She Who Holds All Secrets
by AverytheElf
Summary: Aaralyn has been running all of her life from Division. Now it has lead to no other choice, but to hide in a whole other world; the world of witchcraft and wizardry.
1. Prologue: A Life of Running

There are special people in this world. We don't ask to be special. We're just born this way. We pass you on the streets every day, unnoticed by most. It started in 1945. The Nazis were conducting experiments in psychic warfare, trying to turn those with psychic abilities into soldiers. Lots of us died. The war ended, but the experiments never stopped. Other governments around the world set up what they called "divisions", trying to do what the Nazis couldn't, to turn us into weapons. The divisions agents are trained to track and hunt us down like animals. Take us away from our families and friends. They test us and categorize us. My friend Cassie is what they call a Watcher. They can see the future, even if that's not always as simple as it sounds. Others are called Movers, just an easy way of saying telekinetic. Pushers put thoughts in your head, and make whatever lie they come up with the truth. Sniffs, Shifters, Shadows, Bleeders... it goes on and on. In divisions' eyes, we're all just lab rats. Only one problem — we keep dying. No one has ever survived the drug meant to boost our powers.

My name is Aaralyn White. Division is looking for me, because I'm not like the others. I'm categorized as a Keeper; I'm the "keeper" of all of the powers. I'm the only Keeper in this world. Division wants to use me as the "ultimate weapon;" they want me to bring back the psychic warfare. I couldn't let that happen; I could see myself in the future, being used until I was warn out completely. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life as an object that's forced to kill. So when I was 10, I ran away.

I spent 2 years on my own; hiding, stealing, trying to remain unseen by anyone. At the beginning of my 3rd year I met Nick, a Mover, he took care of me like I was his family. Shortly afterward we met, Rosaline the Shadow; and then Cassie the Watcher. We first faught off Division to destroy the drug they used on us. But that revealed me to them, so they started up the hunt again. I became their newest target, and I couldn't trust anyone.


	2. The Hiding Place

**A/N: So here's the first chapter to my new story! I thought I'd never think of something to write, but obviously I did! So review it, tell me what you think. Enjoy!**

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><p>It was somewhere near midnight. The streets of New York were alive as ever. This city is as sleepless as Seattle; always busy and never had time to stop. Everyone had to be somewhere. The parents of a family had to go to work to pay the bills and feed the kids. The kids had to go to school to learn and be educated, so they could get jobs of their own and repeat the history of their parents. But I wasn't going to work or going to school. I had to stay hidden, so I couldn't be caught by Division; so I wouldn't die.<p>

The apartment we were staying in was rundown; it probably hasn't been rented out in years. It was dirty and dark. The only light source we had came from the cars zooming past the apartment building. We have been staying in this dark, pathetic hide-out for 3 weeks now. Hiding here was useless. We were bound to get caught sooner or later; I keep seeing images of us getting caught. I keep all of the images I have in a sketch book, like Cassie does. Cassie is a crappy artist but not crappy enough to know what she's drawing. Her drawings were the same as mine right now; all four of us, dead. We were thinking the same thing: the longer we stayed in here, the closer we came to our death.

I watched the light flash by the window, temporarily blinding me. I counted all of the cars that passed by the apartment. I couldn't do anything else; if I went outside, Division might catch me. I knew that they were around here somewhere. They weren't outside of the building, but they weren't that far away.

Cassie quietly walked over to Nick's side. She handed him her sketch book, and he looked at her newest sketch. He looked around at all of us and then back at the paper. He sighed deeply and slammed the book shut.

"You know we can't stay here forever," Cassie said, "We'll get caught and they'll kill us."  
>"Or they'll torture us <em>then <em>kill us," Rosaline added as she pushed her blue hair away from her face.

Nick didn't say anything. He just looked out the window with me. I looked up at him pleadingly. He finally looked back at me.

"Please Nick," I said. "We have to go."

Nick sighed again and pinched the tip of his nose. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to escape for one second. He opened his eyes and thought for a while.

"Fine," he said, "We'll go."

I smiled, to say thank you.

"I know where you can hide," he said to me.

"Only me?" I asked, "You guys aren't coming?"

"Cassie and I will be near by," Nick said, "Rosaline will be with you to keep an eye on you."

"So where are we going?" Rosaline asked.

"London," Nick said.

"Why London?" I asked.

"There's a boarding school there," Cassie explained, "It's a very big school and very safe. It's also very hard to find, so it will take Division at least a year to find you."

"What is it called?" Rosaline asked.

"Hogwarts," Nick answered.

"Hogwarts?" I asked, "What kind of a school is that?"

"A school of witchcraft and wizardry," Nick said.

"Witchcraft?" I repeated.

"And wizardry?" Rosaline added, "But that's for...magic, which doesn't exist."

"It actually does," Cassie said, "It's been a school for hundreds of years. The fact that it's a school for wizards and witches is what makes it so hard to find. It's hidden away in London. And Division doesn't think that it exists so it makes it even harder for them to find you."

"You've been thinking about this for a while haven't you?" I asked.

"It was her idea," Nick said.

"But wouldn't we have to _be _witches in order to go to the school?" Rosaline asked.

"I already talked to the headmaster," Nick said, "He knows that you two don't have any magical powers, but would love to help. Dumbledore never turns down those in need. He just suggests that you stay unknown to most of the students. He already sorted you into the Ravenclaw house so you wouldn't be acknowledged. You just be like everyone else there."

I guess I didn't have much of a choice. It was the only way I could hide from Division. And staying here was just risking my chance of living.

"Alright," I said.

"I guess we're going to London," Rosaline shrugged.

That night we snuck out of the apartment, unseen and unheard. We took the next flight to London. Once we got there, we rented out a room in a near by hotel. The next morning we had to go to the train station. School was starting tomorrow. We had already gotten everything we needed for our classes; wands, caldrons, robes, etc. I was anxious that we had gotten this far into the plan. I thought we'd get caught as soon as we stepped outside. But so far, so good.

I finally got some sleep that night. It felt good to sleep; the soft touch of the pillow was pleasant. The covers held me gently as I entered a peaceful dream land. I dreamed that I was normal, like any other person in this world; I didn't know about psychic warfare or wizardry existing. They were only fairy tales. I liked this dream. It made me feel like I didn't have a single worry in the world. No one wanted to probe me, hunt me down or kill me. I just smiled and lived my life. But my smile went away when Nick shook me awake.

"It's time to go," he said.

He didn't smile or even look me in the eye. I knew he hated this as much as I did. Nick couldn't last 10 minutes without knowing if I was alive. We've been around each other too long to _not _care about one another.

Rosaline and I packed everything we needed. I was soon ready to go; and so was Rosaline. Cassie called a cab for us. Nick and Cassie weren't going to the train station with us, otherwise we'd look suspicious. The only time for goodbyes was now.

I hugged Cassie first.

"Remember to blend in," Cassie said, "And be nice, you might meet some people."

"Right," I smiled, "I'll miss you, too."

Cassie was never great with words. She didn't know much about trust. Hell, none of us did. We only trusted each other.

I then stood in front of Nick. We stood there silently for a moment. I decided to just hug him, and not say anything. The hug itself said a lot. I finally pulled away and grabbed my things.

"Bye," I said once again.

Rosaline waved goodbye to them and then we both left for the taxi waiting outside. We placed what we could in the trunk and then stuffed the rest in the back.

"Where to ladies?" the driver asked.

"The train station, please," Rosaline said.

The driver started up the car and we were off. I watched as the town zoomed by my window. It flew by so quickly because before I knew it, we were at the train station. We got our stuff out of the cab, paid the driver and quickly went to station.

"Where's our train?" I asked Rosaline.

"Platform 9 3/4," she said.

"9 3/4?" I repeated.

"That's what it says on the card," she said.

"We'll never be able to find that," I sighed.

We passed Platform 9 and then Platform 10.

"See," I said, "There's no 9 3/4."

"This makes no sense," Rosaline said.

Suddenly we heard a group of people chattering away. One of them mentioned Platform 9 3/4. I turned around and saw a family of fiery redheads. Rosaline and I started to follow them. They stopped at the wall between Platforms 9 and 10.

"Fred, George," the mother said, "You two first."

A pair of redheaded twins took their carts and started to charge at the wall. They were going to crash. But they ended up...not. They actually went _through _the wall. Then a young girl went through. Then I noticed a boy, surprisingly not redhead, go through the wall after her. Rosaline and I were looking at them go through the wall one at a time in total shock.

"Holy shit," Rosaline muttered.

"We have to go through _there_?" I asked.

"Apparently," she said.

Once they all went through, it was our turn. I decided to go first.

"Well," I sighed, "Here goes nothing."

I took a deep breath and charged forward. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting to feel the brick slam into my face; but it never comes. I open my eyes and see that I'm in another train station. I made it. Soon after, Rosaline came shooting through the wall. She stopped, but her eyes were still closed.

"Am I dead yet?" she asked.

I poked her on the shoulder which made her open her eyes. She looked at her surroundings curiously.

"Does it look like your dead?" I asked.

"Shut up, Aaralyn," she muttered.

I laughed and dragged her towards the train. We handed an employee the stuff we wouldn't be bringing into the compartments. We quickly got onto the train before it left.

We passed a lot of compartments, but still couldn't find an empty or at least half full compartment. Finally there was one that we could sit in, it only had three people in there. I slid the door open and poked my head in.

"Excuse me," I said as they all looked up at me, "Do you mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"Go ahead," said the girl of the group.

I smiled and opened the door all the way to let Rosaline in with me. We both sat down next to a boy that had messy black hair and round glasses. Across from us was a redhead boy and a girl with wavy and partially frizzy brown hair. They looked like they were our age; 14.

"I'm Hermione Granger," the girl said.

"Hi," Rosaline said, "I'm Rosaline Moriali."

"And I'm Aaralyn White," I said.

"Nice to meet you both," Hermione smiled. She looked over at the boy next to her and nudged him with her elbow. He flinched and then straightened up.

"Oh sorry," he said, "I'm Ron Weasley."

"I'm Harry Potter," said the boy next to me.

"So what houses are you all in?" I asked.

"We're all in Gryffindor," Hermione said.

"Are you new here?" Ron asked, "I've never seen you two before."

"We're in Ravenclaw," I said, "We both like being quiet. We don't exactly like all attention on us."

"Yeah," Rosaline added, "We don't really have that many friends."

"It's strange," Harry said, "I think I would have noticed someone with electric blue hair."

Rosaline blushed as she pushed her blue bangs away.

"I dyed it over the summer," she lied.

"I guess that explains it," Hermione shrugged.

This was going nicer than I expected. I was worried about talking to students from Hogwarts; about what they would think of us. But it was actually okay. They seemed nice.


	3. The Power of Pushing

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Thank you muentiger for reviewing! You get virtual hugs! I hope you guys like this chapter. There's a lot going on in this one. Enjoy and review! Oh and I went back and changed something. Thanks muentiger for the correction!  
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><p>The train finally stopped, which meant that we had arrived. We all had already changed into our robes. We grabbed our bags and stepped off the train. Rosaline and I decided to walk with Harry, Hermione and Ron to Hogwarts; we might actually learn some things from them.<p>

Hogwarts was a beautiful place. It had a medieval look to it; a castle-like building with glorious green hills spreading all around the school for miles and miles. There was a lake near by that reflected the sun perfectly. I wished that the real world was more like this.

The huge front doors of the school opened slowly, letting all of the students in one group at a time. We finally got in and followed everyone else; where ever the hell they were going. We reached a very large room with four long tables. Each table was swarming with students from ages 11 to 17. I looked up and saw hundreds of candles floating in midair. A beautiful night sky was placed on the ceiling. I knew it wasn't really because I had did some extra reading on the school before we got here. I wanted to make sure that we didn't stand out too much.

"So where do we sit?" Rosaline asked.

"Well..." I said, "We have to sit with the people that are dressed like us."

"Everyone is dressed like us," Rosaline said.

"No," I said, "Everyone has different symbols on the their robes and different tie colors. We have purple and gray."

Rosaline looked around the room.

"Those people over there have purple ties," she pointed to the table second to the right.

I nodded in agreement; they all had the Ravenclaw uniform. We walked over to the table casually and sat down. A few people looked at us oddly; most of them were staring at Rosaline's blue hair. This started to irritate her. She turned to the person next to her, who happened to be staring.

"Yes," she said, "I have electric blue hair. Get over it."

I giggled at her frustration. The person was taken back a little at her outburst, but luckily it made everyone stop staring. Everyone started to grow quiet. I turned to the front to see an old man in silvery blue robes stand up at the podium. He had a long gray beard, which was a bit longer than his long gray hair. His half-moon shaped glasses glinted by the light of the candles. He reminded me of a wise grandfather, which made me smile a little. From what I read, I was pretty sure that he was the headmaster; Albus Dumbledore.

"Well now that we're all settled in and sorted," he said, "I'd like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen-"

Dumbledore was suddenly interrupted by someone reopening the doors. A scraggly, filthy man, who reminded me of a hobo, came running into the room. Well, it wasn't a run; it was a part run, part limp kind of deal. It was quite amusing. He rushed over to the Dumbledore's side and whispered something in his ear. No one could hear what he was saying. He then ran/limped back out of the room; it gave me a dying urge to roll on the floor laughing.

"So Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event: The TriWizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "The Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single student is selected to compete. Now let me be clear. If chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say, these contest are not for the faint-hearted. But more of that later. First please help me in welcoming the lovely ladies, of the Beauxbatons academy of magic and their mistress, Madame Maxine!"

The doors reopened once again, revealing many beautiful girls all wearing silky blue uniforms. To be honest they seemed very prissy, which made me dislike them a little. They pranced down the aisle gracefully. Every now and then they'd stop and do some odd gesture to the boys. It was a sigh of a damsel in distress, but also said 'I've fallen for you.' It made all of the boys swoon, and it made me gag. Rosaline had the same look that I had: disgust.

"You've got to be kidding me," Rosaline groaned. I nodded, saying that I agreed with her.

Suddenly we heard a large pair of footsteps walking down the aisle. It was a _humungous_ woman, at least 8 feet tall. I was trying so hard not to make my jaw drop.

"Good Lord," I whispered.

"I know," Rosaline whispered back.

Once the girls finished their so called "performance," the boys started clapping and cheering and whistling. Rosaline and I clapped, but with no effort.

"And now our friends from the north," Dumbledore announced, "Please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and their high master, Igor Karkaroff!"

"Oh great," I said, "Just what we need; another pathetic performance."

"Yeah," Rosaline agreed, "Except this time it will be with hot-headed, self-absorbed men that think with their - Good God!"

I turn around to see what she was gawking at; the boys from Durmstrang might be hot-headed but they were also good looking.

"Hot damn," I muttered.

They marched down the aisle with these long wooden staffs. They'd stomp them against the ground, which created a spark. A few of them did some very impressive dance moves. One of them blew out fire which made a dragon shaped flame. It was actually very good. Their teacher then came in, with a boy by his side. A bunch of students looked at them in surprise and started to whisper.

"It's Viktor Krum," someone from our table whispered.

Rosaline and I looked at each other oddly. What was so great about Viktor Krum? We both shrugged, not having the faintest idea.

We all clapped at the end of the performance. Rosaline and I actually enjoyed it, unlike the one from the girls of Beauxbatons. Dumbledore soon got everyone to calm down.

"Let the feast begin," he said as he waved his hands slowly in front of him.

Suddenly food appeared on our empty table. Rosaline was as excited as I was. I didn't hesitate to dig in. It was moments like this that made me wish I was _actually _a witch. The Beauxbaton students unfortunately sat with Ravenclaw while the Durmstrang students sat with Slytherin. A few of the girls from Beauxbaton sat beside us. It was annoying the hell out of me; it almost made me loose my appetite. They would glance at us every now and then and then whisper in French. It was pretty obvious that they were talking about us.

"Excuse me," one of them said in a thick french accent, "I don't mean to pry, but why is you're hair blue?"

"Because I dyed it," Rosaline said, obviously being a smart mouth.

"Well obviously," the Beauxbaton girl said, "But why? It's...uh...unnatural."

"More like uncivilized," another girl added.

"I suggest you keep your mouth shut," I sneered.

"Or what?" she dared.

I glared at her aggressively. I had the greatest urge to push her; maybe I'll make her shave her own hair, that will show her something uncivilized. I'd push them all right now if I wanted to, and I really wanted to. But that would cause attention.

"You _will_ leave us alone," I said.

I could feel my pupils dilating as I started to push her. Her face became trance-like, with no emotion.

"You won't look at us," I added, "Talk to us or even think about us. We never had this conversation."

Black covered my eyes entirely, and the order was complete. I looked away and so did she. She smiled and continued talking to her friends as if nothing happened. They were curious at first, but then decided to ignore it. Rosaline looked at me with anger and shock.

"Why did you do that?" she half whispered, half yelled.

"I had no choice," I said.

"Yes you did," she argued, "You could have chosen to ignore her. You shouldn't have pushed her. You could have made a scene, or worse."

"Come on," I scoffed, "It was a harmless little push."

Rosaline groaned and angrily ran her fingers through her hair.

"Just," she paused, "Be careful."

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Fine," I said.

"Your attention please!" Dumbledore said, "I'd like to say a few words."

Everyone was silent again and turned to Dumbledore. I noticed that a giant golden pillar was standing next to him. I was curious to know what was in it.

"Eternal glory!" he said, "That's what awaits the student who wins The Triwizard Tournament, but to this that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks!"

"Cool," Rosaline smiled devilishly.

I giggled a little; Rosaline had always been addicted to danger and thrill. She was an adrenaline junkie.

"To explain all this," Dumbledore continued, "We have the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mr. Bartemus Crouch..."

Another man stepped up, who obviously was Crouch, next to Dumbledore. He was about to speak, when lightning struck from ceiling. Everyone was startled, which probably meant that this has never happened before. Students started to panic, when someone put a spell on it. I looked to the side to see a deformed looking man with a huge, bulging blue eye and a metal leg and a walking stick walk towards Dumbledore. They shook hands and Crouch just resumed whatever he was about to say.

"After due consideration," Crouch started, "The Ministry has concluded that for their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the tournament-"

Then I couldn't hear what he was saying; mostly because there was a great outburst from the students. I could hear several of them booing and yelling "rubbish" or "that's not fair." Rosaline looked a little disappointed as well. I guess she wanted to enter, too.

"Silence!" Dumbledore loudly shouted.

Dumbledore pointed his wand to the giant gold pillar and it melted away to reveal a large, bronze goblet. Soon, blue flames engulfed the inside of it. It was hypnotizing and intriguing.

"The Goblet of Fire!" Dumbledore said, "Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly! If chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment, The Triwizard Tournament has begun!"

Today we had are our first class. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts. I knew that our teacher was the odd man from the other night; the one with the craziest eye and metal leg. Rosaline and I sat next to each other once we reached the class room. I saw Hermione, Ron and Harry walk into the classroom. I waved at Hermione and she decided to sit in front of us. The teacher then came in, limping all the way to the front of the room.

"Alastor Moody," he said. He then wrote his name on the board. "Ex-Auror, Ministry malcontent... and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story, good-bye, the end. Any questions?"

No raised their hand; probably because they all were already afraid of him.

"When it comes to the Dark Arts," Moody continued, "I believe in a practical approach. But first, who can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?"

Hermione raised her hand and the professor nodded for her to answer.

"Three, sir," Hermione said.

Moody then wrote "unforgivable" on the board.

"And they are so named?" he then asked.

"Because they are unforgivable," Hermione answered, "The use of any one of them will..."

"Earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban," Moody finished her sentence, "Correct! The Ministry of Magic says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different! You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared!"

I noticed that a kid started to take his gum out and put is under his desk.

"You need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the under-side of your desk, Mr. Finnegan!" Moody shouted.

He said this without even looking at him; he was facing the board the entire time.

"No way," the boy whispered, "The old codger can see in the back of his head."

Moody turned around and threw his chalk at the kid very aggressively.

"And hear across classrooms!" he shouted, "Now, which curse shall we see first? WEASLEY!"

"Yes?" Ron's voice squeaked.

"Stand!" Moody ordered, "Give us a curse."

"Well," Ron managed to say without stuttering, "My dad did tell me about one. The Imperius Curse."

"Oh, yeah," Moody nodded, "Your father would know all about that. Gave the Ministry a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps this will show you why."

Moody took out a spider from a jar sitting on the front table. He placed on the palm of his hand with he held his wand in the other hand.

"_Engorgio!_" he said. Suddenly the spider grew larger.

"_Imperio!_" he then said.

Suddenly he could levitate the spider. It squirmed in dislike of being moved around. He moved his wand around to make fly around the room. We all started to laugh at this. He put it on a student's hand, which made us laugh more and made the student feel uncomfortable. Moody moved it over to Ron's head. Ron looked so terrified; as sorry as I felt for him, I still laughed.

After playing many antics with the Imperius Curse, Moody stopped.

"What should I make her do now?" he asked, still levitating the spider.

"Fly out the window?" he suggested.

He flicked his wand and the spider flew to the window, which was luckily closed.

"Drown herself?" he suggested another.

He lowered his wand, and the spider moved to be just above a bucket of water. It started to seem sad, to watch the spider suffer. He brought the spider back to palm and placed it back on the table.

"Scores of witches and wizards," Moody said, "Have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding... under the influence of the Imperius Curse. But here's the rub: How do we sort out the liars?"

Rosaline and I looked at each other for a moment. You-Know-Who what now? What was he talking about. Moody then looked around the room.

"Another, another," he said.

Several kids slowly raised their hands. One kid in the front seemed hesitant, but raised his hand anyway.

"Longbottom, is it?" Moody asked, the kid nodded, "Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology."

"There's the, um," the student stuttered, "The Cruciatus Curse."

"Correct! Correct!" Moody said, "Come, come."

He brought the student over to the table.

"The torture curse," Moody said.

He then aimed his wand at the spider.

"_Crucio!_" Moody said.

The spider made a terrifying squealing sound, which was seriously bothered the student watching up close.

"Stop it!" Hermione said, "Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!"

Moody must have not noticed, because he looked like he was snapping back into reality. He stopped and picked up the spider. He placed it on Hermione's desk.

"Perhaps you could give us the last Unforgivable curse, Miss Granger," he said.

Hermione shook her head no.

"No?" Moody asked.

He then pointed his wand at the spider.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" he said.

A green light shot out from his wand, and then the spider fell dead. It was terrible, to take life just like that. I looked over and saw Harry watching this intensely from his desk.

"The Killing Curse," Moody said, "Only one person is known to have survived it... and he's sitting in this room."

I noticed that he was standing next to Harry, and he was also staring at him as he said that. Harry survived the curse?


	4. Sights Unseen By Others

**A/N: Thank you muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing! So this chapter's got some interesting stuff going on. I'm switching off on point of view's, starting with Rosaline. So enjoy and don't forget to review! Also tell me if you got some ideas for what else to add.**

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><p><span>Rosaline's P.O.V.<span>

Aaralyn and I sat in the Ravenclaw common room to catch up on our studies. Considering the fact that we weren't actually wizards, we had a _lot _of catching up to do. Sure, we did some book work before school started, but the classes themselves were confusing the hell out of me. Sometimes I wished that there was a power of super-intelligence; but of course I was stuck with being a Shadow. All I can do is erase memories and block off scents and traces of people from the Sniffs. That's most of the reason why I came with Aaralyn. But I'm good at what I do, so I didn't take any offense to it. Should I be offended?

Suddenly I was forced back into reality by Aaralyn slamming her Potions book aggressively. Good Lord, she was impulsive.

"God dammit," she muttered, "I'll _never _be able to get this stuff."

"Oh calm down," I said, "It's like studying for a regular class. Except this has to do with magic, mythical creatures and such. There isn't that much of a difference."

"I swear to God I'll scream my head off if I don't remember this," she growled.

"Oh please don't," I begged, "If you do, you'll make everyone's ears bleed. You could cause someone's head to explode."

She rolled her eyes at me. Sometimes her being a Keeper bothered me. Some of her powers were useful, but others were just awful. The fact of her being a Bleeder, scared me. I never liked Bleeders; they were so violent and angry. I'm guessing that's were Aaralyn gets her impulsive personality. I could imagine the pupils of her eyes turning into slits, almost like a cat. Then she would open her mouth, and this shrieking and torturous scream would explode. Walls would crack, glass would break, and most importantly, people would die. I remember when Nick got attacked by a couple of Bleeders in Hong Kong. His hands were covered in blood from covering his bleeding ears. Another thing about Bleeders, they always wear sunglasses. They think they're _so _cool that they wear sunglasses. Oh come on people, your eyes are only _not _normal when you scream. It just irritates me.

"Whatever," Aaralyn sighed, finally calming herself down. "It's just the Potions teacher. He is ridiculous!"

"Snape?" I asked. She nodded as a reply.

"He's not _that _bad," I said, "I mean when I first came to class, he was looking at me oddly. I'm guessing it was either because I was confused the _entire time_ or the fact that my hair is as blue as the flames in the Goblet of Fire."

Aaralyn giggled, imagining Professor Snape staring intensely at my hair. Everyone does that. It's been this color since I was 10. A few people teased me because of it, others thought it was cool. I liked color; big deal.

"Well I'm going to the library," I said while standing up. I grabbed a few of my books.

"Have fun," Aaralyn said, too focused on her textbook.

I walked out of the common room and started to walk to the library. Half way there, I started to skip. I laughed a little at my silliness. I decided to stop skipping since it was wasting a lot of my energy.

I turned around the corner of a hall and hit something. I fall back a little and look to see what I might have possibly knocked over. Instead of seeing a statue or something fragile shattered on the ground, I see a boy. He wore the uniform for Hufflepuff. His hair was a pleasant color of brown which blended with his brown eyes. He smirked a little, making me feel a little weak at the knees.

"Uh-uh," I stuttered, "Sorry."

"It's quite alright," he said. He then stuck out his hand. "I'm Cedric Diggory."

I took his hand slowly and shook it.

"Rosaline Moriali," I said.

He smiled and let go of my hand, leaving it with a shocking and tingly sensation. I almost blushed at the feeling of his touch.

"Are you sick?" I asked, "Or slightly mental?"

He looked at me confused. Great, there I go blabbing out something completely outspoken and rude.

"Uh..." he paused, "No. Is there a reason why you're asking?"

"Oh sorry," I said, "It's just that people usually don't talk to me. They consider me a freak. The blue hair kind of sets them off."

"I don't see why," he said, "It looks nice on you."

This time I did blush. I looked down at my shoes and then back at him. I saw him smirking again.

"Thanks," I said, "Well I better get going. Don't want to waste my time talking to some guy."

He looked at me, a little offended.

"Oh crap," I muttered, "Sorry. That came out wrong. It's just that when I meet new people, I usually say things that I should keep to myself. Like the fact that your shoes look like they came from a thrift store. _Shit! _I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that!"

He laughed a little. At least he was laughing, it was better than walking away and muttering something about me being a freak.

"Sorry," I said once again.

"You already said that," Cedric smiled, "And it's fine. Well, I'll see you around, Rosaline."

I smiled and nodded. Cedric stepped to the side to let me walk by. I quickly walked by before he could notice my now completely red face. Once he was completely out of earshot, I squealed and giggled with excitement. A guy actually talked to me _without _calling me a wierdo. I sighed deeply and walked into the library. Right now I needed to focus on my studies, and not on guys. But the thought of not thinking about guys _still_ made me think about Cedric.

"Cedric Diggory," I whispered to myself, with the smallest grin.

Since there was probably no hope that I was going to pass my classes, I decided to ask Hermione for help. Aaralyn gave up too, so she decided to join us in the Great Hall to study for Potions. A bunch of 7th years were also entering their names in the Goblet of Fire, so it might be nice to watch them. I've always enjoyed people-watching.

"So it's clockwise three times and counter-clockwise five times?" Aaralyn asked.

"Right," Hermione said, "Just remember that and Snape is bound to pass you."

Aaralyn sighed in relief and actually smiled a full grown smile.

"Thank you _so _much, Hermione," she said.

"Yeah," I agreed, "You're definitely a lifesaver."

She smiled at us to say thank you. Suddenly there was giant commotion from the 7th years. They came in a huge group, pushing this one guy towards the Goblet of Fire. His face seemed so familiar. He finally made it out of the crowd and dropped his name into the goblet. It was Cedric. He could feel my eyes on him, so he glanced at me and smirked. I quickly looked down at my textbook, pretending I didn't notice him. I could feel his eyes on me as he walked away. I suddenly felt another set of eyes on me; two sets to be exact. I looked up and saw Aaralyn and Hermione staring at me curiously.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh you know what, Ms. Moriali," Aaralyn smirked.

"You fancy Cedric Diggory," Hermione giggled.

"No, I don't _fancy _Cedric Diggory," I immitated.

"Liar," Aaralyn laughed.

"Alright, so what?" I said, "I think he's cute."

"So do you know him?" Hermione asked.

"Well," I paused, "I _might have _bumped into him on the way to the library yestereday."

"The typical romance story," Aaralyn said, "Boy and girl accidentally bump into each other. They talk, laugh and smile. And then they date and live happily ever after."

I rolled my eyes at her. Aaralyn was never into romance. She didn't believe in soulmates and love-at-first-sight. While I am the hopless romantic that squeals when I see lovey-dovey couples. It's odd that we can be total opposites but end up being the best of friends.

"Well either way," I said, "It doesn't matter. He's a 7th year and I'm a 4th year. He'll be gone next year, so there's no hope."

"Oh don't bring yourself down like that," Hermione said.

Suddenly Aaralyn pressed her fingertips to her forehead. She was getting a vision. She quickly pulled out her sketchbook and started to draw. I was about to glance over her shoulder, but I was distracted by another sudden outburst.

"Well lads, we've done it!" someone cheered.

"Cooked it up just this morning!" another person said.

I saw a pair of redhead twin boys, at least 16, each holding a vial with some kind of potion in it.

"It's not going to work," Hermione said in a know-it-all tone.

They smiled and sat themselves on either side of Hermione.

"Oh yeah?" one of them asked.

"And why's that Granger?" the other one asked.

Hermione pointed to the thin, silvery, ghost-like line that surrounded the goblet.

"You see this?" she asked, "This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself."

"So?" one of them asked.

Hermione scoffed in disbelief and slammed her book shut.

"_So_," Hermione scoffed again, "A genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a dodge as pathetically dim witted as an ageing potion."

"Ah, but that's why it's so brilliant," one twin said.

"Because it's so pathetically dim witted," the other said.

"Yeah it's not going to work," Aaralyn spoke up.

The twins look at Aaralyn oddly. I turned to her to see she was smirking and had a devilish glint in her eyes. She knew something they didn't.

"Oh really?" one of the twins asked.

"Really," Aaralyn smirked.

Hermione was as confused as I was. She looked at me, searching for some kind of proof that I knew what she was talking about. I just shrugged cluelessly.

"Would you like to bet on that?" the other twin asked.

Then Aaralyn's smirk turn into an evil grin.

"Sure," she said, "How much?"

"I bet two sickles that we make it past the age line and get to put our names in the goblet," one of the twins said.

"Fine," Aaralyn nodded, "I bet that you _will_ make it past the age line _and _both put your names into the golbet, but 5 seconds later you'll fly back out with full white beards."

My eyes widened with shock. _That's _what's going to happen? Oh, sweet Jesus. The twins chuckled and shrugged. If only they knew what was coming. One of the twins shook Aaralyn's hand in agreement.

"It's bet," he said.

The twins stood up on the bench and opened up the vials.

"Ready Fred?" one of them asked.

"Ready George," the other said.

"Bottoms up," the said in unison.

They chugged down the potion and then jumped over the age line. They waited for a moment, and nothing happened. Then they each put their names into the Goblet of Fire. Still nothing happened. They cheered and looked at Aaralyn smirking.

"Aara-" I started to say.

"Wait for it," she said, "Three...two...one."

As soon as she stopped counting, flames spat out and started flying everywhere. Then the twins flew back at least 5 feet. I gasped as I watched them sit up, with full white beards.

"You said-" one of the twins said to other.

"You said-" the other twin growled.

Then they started to fight. I turned to Aaralyn to see her smirking, just her usual, evil smirk. She looked at me and then handed me her sketchbook. I flipped to the newest page and saw the twins on the ground with white beards.

"You're evil," I giggled.

"Look on the brightside of it," she said, "I got two sickles and I got to prove someone wrong. It's a double win for me."

Everyone started to crowd around the twins and cheer them on to fight. Hermione just continued reading her textbook.

"Who _are _those guys anyway?" I asked.

"Ron's older brothers," Hermione said, "Fred and George. They're devious, childish and always looking for trouble."

"They sound entertaining," Aaralyn giggled.

"I find them to be more annoying than entertaining," Hermione sighed.

Suddenly the cheering stopped. Everyone cleered the aisle to the Goblet of Fire. Someone from Durmstrang was putting his name in the goblet; Viktor Krum. As he released his name into the blue flames, he looked over at Hermione. She returned the look for only a moment and then looked back down at her book. He then walked out of the room, leaving me quite intrigued by the resent event.

"So I'm not the only one," I smirked.

"W-what are you talking about?" Hermione asked awkwardly.

"Don't lie, Miss Granger" Aaralyn joined in.

"Viktor Krum _fancies _you," I teased.

"Shut up," she muttered as her cheeks blossomed with a rosy pink.

Aaralyn and I laughed a little.

"It's not that great, is it?" I asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and she soon joined in on the laughing.

Aaralyn's P.O.V.

I walked up to Weasley twins, who had finally stopped their useless bickering.

"I believe you owe me two sickles," I said while opening up my palm.

They both groaned in disappointment of losing a bet. One of them pulled two sickles out of his pocket and dropped them into my hand.

"Thank you," I grinned.

"Oh shut up," he said.

I just smiled and rolled my eyes. They should know better to not make a bet with me. I'm always right, considering that I could see the future. It was these kind of moments that made me happy that I was a Keeper. Watchers had one of the best powers. But what sucked was to see what you didn't want to see.

I sat back down next to Rosaline as all of the other students came pouring in. Dumbledore was about to announce the champions of the TriWizard Tournament.

"And now," Dumbledore spoke over the students, "The moment you've all been waiting for, the champion selection!"

He slowly made his way to the Goblet of Fire, and then waited. Suddenly the blue fire merged to a violent red and the spat out a piece of paper. The fire turned blue again and the paper floated gracefully into Dumbledore's hand.

"The Durmstrang champion is," Dumbledore paused to continue reading the parchment, "Viktor Krum!"

Everyone cheered as he walked up to Dumbledore and shook his hand. Even though I didn't care as much, I still clapped; because I was a polite person...sometimes. The flames turned red again and spat out another paper. Dumbledore caught it and read the name on the paper.

"The champion from Beauxbatons," Dumbledore said, "Is Fleur Delacour!"

Several girls from Beauxbatons were squealing and clapping madly as Fleur walked up to Dumbledore. I noticed that she was one of the girls that made a rude comment on Rosaline's hair. But it wasn't the one I pushed. I shrugged it off, it was a careless thing to think about. Once more a name was spat out by the red flames of the goblet.

When Dumbledore read it he said, ""The Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory!"

I remembered that name. It was the boy that Rosaline thought was "cute." He smiled and shook Dumbledore's hand. He looked over our way and smiled at Rosaline. She blushed and waved. He gave her a thumbs up and then walked by. I could hear the slightest sigh slip from Rosaline's lips. It was honestly making me feel nauseous.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore said, "We now have our three champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist, this chalace of champions, this vessel of victory...the TriWizard Cup!"

A cloth was thrown back to reveal a beautiful, glowing, silver trophy. Everyone clapped, but then it stopped when the Goblet of Fire started sparking up red flames again.

"I thought there were only three champions," I said.

"There are," Hermione said.

Then what the hell was happening? The red flames burned even brighter than before. A slip of paper flew out and fluttered towards Dumbledore's palm. He looked down and read it. His face went from curiosity to disbelief.

"Harry Potter," he whispered, but everyone heard him.

My eyes widened as I turned to Harry. He looked so confused. He wasn't even 17. How could he be chosen for the tournament? What was going on? Suddenly my head got a piercing headache. I closed my eyes and saw something very unusual: Harry, dirty and bloody, fighting a strange looking man. He was bald and had snake-like slits to replace his nose. Then it was gone. I quickly sketched it down, detail by detail. I looked at it intensely; Harry looked so scared. And that man, whoever the hell he was, had these piercing eyes that screamed darkness and death. Then, for the first time, I felt scared.


	5. Aaralyn the Philosopher

**A/N: Alright so this chapter is a little shorter than the rest of them. Mostly because it's a filler. I'm trying to space out the events, because pressing them all together chapter by chapter is just too...blah! It cannot be described! **

**So thanks muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing! You have won virtual fried chicken and waffles (you know what I'm talking about)! Enjoy and remember to review! Also check out my stuff on ! It's the same penname!**

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><p>I needed to confront Harry. For days now, it has been nothing but images of the same man over and over again. I was starting to get sick and tired of drawing him; mostly because his face disgusted me. Once you look into those deadly eyes, they stay planted in your head. The hardest part was trying to bring it up. Whenever I was with Harry I felt like something was keeping me from asking. Would I hurt him if I asked?<p>

Recently it has just been me, Rosaline, Harry and kid named Neville. No one else would talk to Harry; and they wouldn't talk to us because we talked to Harry. Neville seemed like one of those kids that no one really talked to anyway. I remembered that he was the kid in my Defense of the Dark Arts class. The Cruciatus Curse really did disturb him. I usually don't feel sorry about people I don't know, but I felt sorry for him. There was a lot about him that he wasn't telling anyone.

We all sat by the Black Lake. Harry and I were studying for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Rosaline was reading a random book and Neville was knee deep in the water. He was observing some of the plants there.

"Amazing," he kept saying over and over and _over _again.

"Neville," Harry said, "You're doing it again."

"Oh," Neville said, "Sorry."

He continued to look at the plant he held in his hands. Rosaline kept flipping from one page to the next; she goes through books like Grant went through Richmond. My observation of her was suddenly interrupted sounds of feet coming our way. I glanced over and saw Ron, Hermione and Ron's younger sister, Ginny. Ron and Ginny stopped as Hermione came closer to us. Harry got up from his spot on the ground and meet to where Hermione was standing.

"Ronald would like me to tell you," she started, "That Seamus told him that Dean was told by Parvati that Hagrid is looking for you."

Seriously? You're going to bring up the he-said-she-said event now? I don't need stupid gossip at a time like this.

"Is that right?" Harry asked, "Well... You can tell him... Wait... What?

Hermione reveals a very confused look, so she returned to Ron's side. They talked quietly and then in few seconds she walked back.

"Dean was told by Parvati that... that..." she paused in confusion, "Please don't ask me to say it again! Hagrid is looking for you."

She then started to walk away.

"Well you can tell Ron-" Harry said.

"I'M NOT AN OWL!" Hermione shouted furiously.

I was a little shocked at her outburst. Hermione has been known to get mad at people, but not explode in their faces. She glared at Harry for a moment, rolled her eyes and then stormed off. For a moment Ron looked a little sympathetic but then it returned to hate. Harry turned back around and sat down. Rosaline returned to flipping through her book and Neville went back to researching his plants. What the hell? They acted as if nothing happened; even Harry didn't seem to care. People here are so weird.

Rosaline left to go to library; she probably was hoping to see Cedric again. Neville had left as well. It was just me and Harry. And it was awkward as ever. I then decided now was perfect time to ask him. I pulled out my sketchbook and flipped to my most recent page. I then placed it on Harry's lap.

"Who is that?" I asked.

Harry suddenly pinched his forehead. The smallest wince escaped from his lips. He shut his eyes tightly and pushed the sketchbook away. I stared at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You don't know much about me, do you?" he asked.

I shook me head, no. Why _would _I know anything about him?

Harry pushed back his messy black hair, revealing a scar on his forehead. It was red and in the shape of a lightning bolt. It was a rather interesting scar.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"I got this when I was a baby," he said, "On the night that my parents were killed."

My eyes widened. I looked back at his scar. What kind of a death would leave a mark like that?

"Lord Voldemort killed them," he said, "Then he tried to kill me. But I survived and he was destroyed. It left this scar on my forehead."

"I'm sorry," I said, "This is obviously means something to you."  
>"It does," he nodded, "But it's okay."<p>

"That guy in the sketchbook," I said, "Was that him?"

He nodded and rubbed his scar at the memory.

"I shouldn't have showed you that," I muttered.

"Where did you get it anyway?" he asked.

"Uh..I drew it," I said.

He looked at me in surprise. Of course now more questions were going to come.

"You drew it?" he asked.

"It was from a dream," I lied.

I couldn't tell him about me being a Watcher, so I had to use the second best thing. It sounded reasonable if I said it came from a dream. Imagine his face if I said "I can see into the future, so I'm guessing he's going to come back and kill you. Sorry!" That was _definitely _not happening. And besides, the future changed with every decision made. So maybe he won't come back.

"Do you think he'll come back?" I asked.

"He's tried before," he sighed, "But has failed in every attempt so far. I know he's going to try again. He'll probably try this year."

"Well if he does," I said, "I hope he fails epically."

Harry chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Why does he keep trying to coming back?" I asked.

"To gain power," he said, "Take over the world, but mostly to kill me."

"Oh," I said awkwardly, "Is it because you survived the last time?"

"I guess so," he shrugged.

"Don't you ever get scared?" I asked.

"Every day," Harry said, "Because I know that he will get stronger and stronger. And soon I won't be able to defeat him."

"I don't believe that," I said; even though it was possible he wouldn't.

"No one does," he said, "Because I'm the bloody hero that _always _saves the day."

"You make it sound so bad," I said.

"Being the hero isn't always great," he said, "Everyone depends on you. No one ever looks at you as a normal person. To them you're beyond normal. Then when you let them down, they turn their backs against you. Or because they think you get special treatment because you're a hero."

"No one said being a hero was easy," I shrugged, "A job has it's consequences. Sometimes our destinies aren't what we want to them to be. We could turn out to be heroes, villains, geniuses, or even hobos. The future might change from our decisions, but the true purpose of our lives never change."

"Since when were you a philosopher on life?" Harry questioned.

I shrugged and smirked.

"I can say something wise every now and then," I said.

Then I realized that this was emotional for Harry. He lost his parents at a young age and survived from death. Life growing up must have been terrible. He pouring the saddest part of his life to me, and I couldn't return the favor. Telling him would just get me into trouble. But it made me feel guilty. I would love to tell him about everything. He would be the first person I ever told my life about; since there was no way in _hell _that I was going to a therapist about this. I'd probably get sent to a mental institute.

I only looked at Harry sympathetically and patted his shoulder. He smiled faintly in reply.

"Well I have to go," I said, "Bye Harry."

"Bye," he said.

I walked away from the lake feeling as guilty as I ever did in my life. He trusted me to tell me how he really felt. It sounded like no one listened to what he really wanted to say. It almost...reminded me of myself.

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><p><strong>AN: Don't forget to review! And go to to check my other stuff (same penname)!**


	6. The First Task

**A/N: Thank you muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing once again! Alrighty so in this chapter there is some humor and some sweet moments so get excited for that! As always, enjoy and review!**

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><p>The newest edition to the school's uniform was the badges. They were these pathetic little enchanted pin-on buttons that read 'Cedric Rules, Potter Stinks!' Seriously, how lame can these people get? Even though I support Harry all the way, they could have done a better job; I mean their <em>wizards<em>.

Rosaline and I walked together, linked arms, through the hallways. I glanced to my right to see Harry talking to Cedric Diggory in the courtyard. They seemed to be having one of those serious discussions, which made me even more curious to listen in on the conversation. Curiosity _might _have killed the cat, but let's remember that the cat has nine lives.

I nudged Rosaline and dragged her over to Harry and Cedric. Once we got there, Cedric was turning around to leave.

"Rosaline," he smiled.

"Hi Cedric," Rosaline said shyly.

He then walked past us. Rosaline sighed ever so quietly and blushed a little. I giggled and continued to walk over to Harry. We stopped under a giant tree where he was standing. I was about to say something, when someone else spoke before me.

"Why so tense, Potter?" a foul voice asked.

It came from the top of the tree. I looked up and saw a boy with silvery blond hair that laid flatly on his forehead. His robes identified him as a Slytherin. A couple of other boys from Slytherin stood around the tree.

"My father and I have a bet, you see," he said, "I don't think you're gonna last ten minutes in the tournament."

He then jumped from down the tree.

"He disagrees," he continued, "He thinks you won't last five!"

He started to laugh with his group when Harry shoved him.

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy," Harry said enraged, "He's vile, and cruel... and you're just pathetic."

Harry started to walk away, when that kid...what ever his name was, pulled out his wand. He fumed and muttered as he was about to curse Harry. Suddenly Professor Moody pops out and casts a spell on him. The kid then transformed into a white ferret. Moody then started to levitate him in the air. He flipped him around and swished him around until Professor McGonagall came.

"Professor Moody, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Teaching," Moody said as he flipped the 'ferret' in the air.

"Is that a... Is that a student?" Professor McGonagall asked shocked.

"Technically, it's a ferret," Moody said.

He flipped the ferret-student through the air again and again. He even shoved the ferret down a poor kids pants. As hilarious as it was, and trust me it was hilarious, that part was a little torturous. Rosaline and I were laughing until our lungs ached.

"Professor Moody," McGonagall fumed, "Change him back!"

Moody rolled his eyes and quickly changed the ferret into its original human form.

"My father will hear about this!" the student spat.

"Was that a threat?" Moody said as he let go of his cane.

He then started to chase the kid around the tree. They ran in circles and circles.

"Professor Moody-" McGonagall interrupted.

"Is that a threat?" Moody asked again.

Finally the kid got away and ran before he would be possibly murdered brutally.

"Alastor!" McGonagall tried to stop him.

"I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even _your _greasy hair, boy!" Moody shouted aggressively.

"Alastor!" McGonagall repeated.

"IT DOESN'T END HERE!" Moody practically shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Alastor!" McGonagall said and this time he listened, "We never use Tranfiguration as a punishment! Surely, Professor Dumbledore told you that."

"Might've mentioned it," Moody muttered.

"Well," McGonagall huffed, "You will do well to remember it."

As McGonagall walked away, Moody stuck his tongue out at her, behind her back. Rosaline and I secretly giggled as Moody limped away angrily.

"Now _that_ is entertainment," I said.

"Indeed," Rosaline laughed.

Today was the day of the first of three challenges for the TriWizard Tournament. I was excited yet nervous at the same time. The challenge was to defeat a dragon in order to get a golden egg that held the clue to the next challenge. Harry would have to fight off a freakin' dragon! I'd be scared out of mind right now if I was him.

Rosaline and I sat on the benches in the crowd with Hermione and Ron. Fred and George were going through the crowd taking people's bets for who would win. Finally they came back to our row of benches.

"Come on!" Fred shouted.

"Take your bets!" George yelled.

"One girl, three lads," Fred said with dramatic effect, "All fighting against vicious fire-breathing dragons! Who will win? And who will die?"

"Make it interesting and put some money into it!" George said.

"Bets! Bets!" Fred repeated, "Take your bets!"

Fred and George then made it to our row.

"Any bets ladies?" George asked.

I dug through my pocket and pulled out a small handful of money.

"Put me down for Harry," I said.

"Like to take a risk, I see," Fred smirked.

"What's there to risk?" I asked, "Harry can do this like anyone else can."

"Oh and I suppose _you _could defeat a dragon?" George asked.

Oh if only they knew. I smirked and shrugged.

"It could happen," I said.

Rosaline then handed them money.

"For Cedric," she said.

I smiled and playfully teased her with my stare.

"Of course you bet on Cedric," I said.

"Shut up," Rosaline muttered as her cold red cheeks turned even redder.

Suddenly the sound of a cannon went off, meaning that the challenge had begun. The first one to step out was Cedric. His moves were quick and he was definitely cautious about his actions. The dragon was quite vicious and always spewing fire at Cedric. Rosaline gasped every time the dragon snapped or lunged at Cedric; but he always ended without a scratch on him. Soon he caught the egg, which caused Rosaline to squeal with joy. It made me gag a little, but she didn't loose her bet so at least she got money out of it. Well, that's the bright side _I _saw in it.

Then Fleur came out to fight off her dragon. I didn't actually want to pay attention to this one. Mostly because Fleur was a snooty, pretty princess that cares about her nails more than she does anything else. She also insulted my best friend so that made me dislike her _very _much. Basically, all I remembered from her battle with the dragon was fire, whining, squealing and a lot of eye rolling from me. But in the end she got the golden egg; which surprised me.

After her, it was Viktor Krum's turn. Viktor seemed like the physical type of being; the kind of people that use body language more than they use their actual mouths. He also reminded me of the Bleeders of the Pop Family. The Pop Family was obnoxious, self-conscious, arrogant and were killed by their own destruction; it was easy to see their outcome, like it was easy to see his. It was obvious that he would win the challenge. And it was.

Finally, Harry came out to fight his dragon. It was completely silent; not a single word spoken and not a single movement made. Everyone just waited, creating a lot of tension. I'm pretty sure I could have cut the tension with a butter knife. Suddenly the dragon came charging down at Harry. Its fire-breath exploded towards Harry, but he luckily dodged out of the way. The dragon shot red blistering flames at Harry everywhere he went. I watched Harry pull out his wand and then yell something out, but nothing happened. What did he try to do? I looked up and then noticed a broom flying through the air, with no one riding it. It came towards Harry; he must have beckoned for it to come to him. He grabbed the broom and kicked off into the air, and the dragon was right on his tail. Then we all waited again. They were too far away for us to see. We just sat there and waited anxiously for them to come back; or at least for Harry to come back.  
>"Do you think he's okay?" Rosaline asked.<p>

"Hopefully he is," I sighed nervously.

Out of nowhere Harry came swooping in on his broom and snatched up the golden egg. Everyone cheered at his success. Rosaline and I cheered him on excitedly. Thank God he made it.

Rosaline's POV

It was a few days after the first challenge. Everyone liked Harry again; it was as if nothing ever happened. I knew he could do it all along.

I was sitting in the courtyard by myself, reading a book. Aaralyn was in library working on her Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment. She actually wanted to do a good job; mostly because she didn't want to get transfigured into a ferret or platypus.

I was almost finished with the last chapter when I could feel the presence of someone near me.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going say hi?" I asked without looking up from the book.

"How did you notice I was there?" Cedric asked.

"I can see things out of the corner of my eyes," I smirked.

Cedric smirked and sat down next to me.

"Isn't that the 5th book you've read this week?" he asked.

I glanced at him curiously. Was he stalking me or something?

"I see you around a lot," he said, "And every time that I do, you're reading a book. It's never the same book."

"I'm a fast reader," I shrugged.

"Well I think you can spare a couple of minutes from that book to come flying with me," he suggested.

Flying? I couldn't fly. If I went with him than it would be obvious that I wasn't a wizard.

"Uh," I paused, "I don't think so."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Um..." I thought for a moment, "I'm...uh..afraid of heights."

"Come on," Cedric begged, "It won't be that bad. Please?"

"No," I quickly said, "I'm sorry, I'm just really afraid of heights. I can't be on a broom on my own."

"Then come with me on mine," he shrugged, "I promise I won't do anything extreme."

I thought about it and then sighed.

"Fine," I said while closing my book.

Cedric smiled and took my hand, making me smile as well. He dragged me to the Quidditch field with his broom in his other hand. He mounted onto his broom and then pulled me behind him so I could wrap my arms around him. Luckily he couldn't see my blush-covered face. He kicked off and immediately we were in the air. Nerves started to flutter around in my stomach, which made me hold on even tighter. I could feel his laughter erupt in his chest.

The wind blew my hair back as we soared through the sky. I smiled at the feeling, it was actually a lot fun; especially with Cedric. He then stopped and we were floating in the middle of the air.

"Look down," he said.

I looked down and gasped. I could see all of Hogwarts; the school, the lake and miles of green hills and forest around it. It was amazing and beautiful.

"I love it," I giggled.

"It's my favorite view," he said smirking at my expression.

"It's beautiful," I said. "Thanks for showing it to me."

"Anytime," he smiled.

"Alright now bring me down before I become nauseous," I said.

He chuckled and gracefully flew us back down to the ground. I quickly got off and turned to face Cedric.

"Thanks again," I said, "I had fun."

"As did I," he smirked.

I smiled and then Cedric did something that completely threw me off guard; he leaned in and kissed my cheek. On the inside I was practically exploding with enjoyment, but on the outside I just had a blank face.

"Uh.." I paused, "I have t-t-to go."  
>I rushed away before my cheeks bloomed the color of roses. I was completely confused at the moment. Did he do that as a friendly gesture? Did he know that I liked him? Did he like me back? What the hell was I supposed to do about it?<p> 


	7. The Yule Ball

**A/N: After almost 2 hours of homework, a 20 minute nap, and 3 hours of writing, I could FINALLY got this chapter finished! I felt a little brain-dead honestly so sorry if this chapter sucks. Anyways, thank you muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing. Oh there is a possibility that there won't be a chapter posted up tomorrow. I will be at my dad's this weekend and he doesn't have internet. I know...it's ridiculous! So please be patient!**

**This chapter is a filler, so it's a little shorter than the others. Also don't forget to review! Enjoy!**

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><p>Rosaline and I sat next to each other in the Great Hall, happily devouring our breakfast. While my plate had a nice stack of pancakes and few strips of bacon, Rosaline's plate piled high with bacon, eggs and toast. I never understood how a skinny girl like her could eat so much. Once I finished my breakfast, I saw Harry, Hermione and Ron sitting at the Gryffindor. Hermione waved for us to come over. I got up and rushed over as Rosaline joyfully hopped off her seat and skipped all the way to the other table.<p>

"Hey guys," Rosaline smiled.

Everyone stared at her oddly. I guess no one here was exactly a morning person.

"You're happy this morning," Ron said.

"What?" Rosaline asked as if it was nothing, "I'm a morning person."

Ron just shook his head and continued to eat his breakfast. Suddenly younger kid from Gryffindor came by with a package. He handed Ron the package and then smiled at Harry, as if he was in the presence of a celebrity.

"Later, Nigel," Ron said.

The kid sighed and then walked away.

"I told Nigel I would get him Harry's autograph," Ron shrugged.

Rosaline giggled as Ron opened up his package. He pulled out an old, hideous, brown, lacy, raggedy...thing. I didn't know what it was exactly; it sort of looked like a dress, but at the same time it wasn't. Whatever it was, it made me laugh.

"Mum sent me a dress!" Ron said shocked.

"Well it does match your eyes," Harry teased, "Is there a bonnet? Ah Ha!"

Harry pulled out a frilly, lacy thing from the box. Ron glared at him as the rest of us laughed.

"Nose down Harry," Ron muttered. He then looked over at his sister. "Ginny, these must be for you."

Ginny wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I'm not wearing that," she said, "It's ghastly!"

Hermione let out a small giggle, since she was trying not to laugh so hard.

"What are you on about?" Ron asked.

"They're not for Ginny," Hermione laughed, "They're for you!"

Then it was my turn to laugh. I just couldn't hold it any longer. I literally fell off of my seat and started laughing my ass off. Those ugly rags were for Ron? Oh heaven help him.

"Dress robes!" Hermione said.

"Dress robes?" Ron asked, "For what?"

I stopped laughing when an image appeared into my head. The Great Hall was empty, decorated, and had a winter scenery. Girls were in gowns while the boys wore suits. There was music and dancing. I pulled out my sketchbook and started to draw everything out. Once I was done the sketch revealed what looked like a dance.

"Crap," I muttered.

Rosaline was the only one that heard me. She glanced over my shoulder and saw my sketch.

"I don't get it," she said.

"There's going to be a dance," I said.

"Seriously?" she asked.

I sighed and nodded my head. I _loathed _dances; you had to dress up for just one night and then dance to crappy music. It was ridiculous.

"So will you be going?" she asked.

"Hell no," I said.

"What?" she gasped, "Why not?"  
>"You know I hate dances," I said.<p>

"But it might be fun," she suggested.

"If it involves crappy music, poofy dresses and high heels, then there is no way in hell that it will be fun," I said.

"Oh don't be a mopey, dopey Eeyore," Rosaline groaned.

I looked at her and giggled.

"Mopey, dopey _Eeyore_?" I laughed.

"Shut up, it was the first thing that came in my mind."

I laughed anyway, then Rosaline playfully punched my shoulder. She finally gave in and laughed with me.

"So I'm guessing you want Cedric to ask you to go with him," I teased.

Rosaline hid her blushing cheeks behind her blue hair.

"I don't know," she mumbled embarrassed, "Maybe."

"I figured," I shrugged, "Whenever you see him you go coo-coo bananas."

"You're _really _pushing your luck with me," she said.

I shrugged and deviously smiled.

"You know me," I said, "I like to take risks with people."

"Yeah like when you talked back to Professor Snape yesterday," Rosaline said, "You're lucky he just took 5 points from Ravenclaw. I thought he was going to take half of your face off!"

I sighed in enjoyment at the memory.

"Yeah," I said, "That was fun."

"You evil child," Rosaline smirked.

It was officially announced that the was going to be a dance. Actually it was a ball; the Yule Ball. The fact that it was going to be a ball made me hate it even more. For almost a week now, girls have been gossiping and talking about who they were going with or what they were wearing. It made me want to grab the nearest spoon and choke myself. Oh and don't forget the drama; when a girl likes a guy but he's going with someone else. Or my favorite: when a couple breaks up and the guy comes with another girl or the other way around. You'll definitely see a fight come out of _that _one.

I sat by the tree near the Black Lake. I was extremely bored, I had nothing to do. Rosaline was anxiously waiting for Cedric to ask her to the ball. Harry and Ron were stressing over who they should ask. And then Hermione, well she actually got a date. I wasn't going so I had to think of what I was going to do while everyone else was at the ball.

I glanced around me and saw a pine cone on the ground. I picked it up and held it in my hand. I placed it on the palm of my hand and focused; it then turned into a pebble. It was a smooth, flat pebble that was no bigger than the size of a quarter. I stood up and walked to the edge of the lake. I then threw the pebble and watched it skip against the surface of the water.

I sat back down and decided to shift random things. I turned a leaf into a necklace, and then a twig into rubber band. I then saw something twinkle from the corner of my eye. It was too far away for me to see what it was. I brought my hand forward I concentrated. It slowly came forward. Once it came close enough, I realized it was a small emerald. It was a little dirty from lying in the dirt. It floated above my hand for a few seconds before I finally let it drop into my palm. I brushed off the dirt with the sleeve of my robe. It sparkled in the sunlight, shooting off small rays of green. I smiled and placed it in my pocket. I then grabbed my books and left for the common room.

Rosaline's P.O.V.

Aaralyn and I sat in the common room to study for our upcoming Herbology quiz. We borrowed some notes from Neville, since he practically knew everything about the class. We were almost finish when a couple of Ravenclaw girls came into the common room giggling furiously.

"Something tells me you guys are happy," Aaralyn sarcastically said.

"Cho has a date to the ball," one of the girls giggled.

We knew who Cho was. She could be sweet...sometimes, I think. She might be in Ravenclaw, but she was kind of an airhead. She was also _very _slutty, which is one of the reasons why Rosaline and I didn't like her.

"Oh really?" Rosaline said, trying sound interesting.

"Yeah," Cho giggled, "What about you guys?"

"Oh, I'm not going to the ball," Aaralyn shrugged.

They all looked at her as if she had three heads.

"Really?" one of them asked shocked.

"Not going to the ball is like not breathing," another said dramatically, "You have to go."

"No I don't," Aaralyn said, "Look, even if I had to choose between death and putting on a dress and going to the ball, I would choose death."

"Whatever," Cho said rolling her eyes.

"Rosaline is waiting for this guy to ask her to come with her," Aaralyn wiggled her eyebrows at me.

That girl really enjoyed watching me get embarrassed. She loved doing anything that she could get a laugh out of.

"Who is it?" Cho asked me.

"None of your business," I blushed.

"So who's the Casanova that's taking you anyway?" Aaralyn asked Cho.

Cho smiled from ear to ear and blushed madly.

"Cedric Diggory!" she squealed and then started giggling.

Cedric? Cedric Diggory? He was taking Cho to the ball? How could he do this? I was lost for words. My eyes were wide and my jaw almost dropped to the ground when I heard this.

"I know!" Cho said when she saw my reaction, "_The _Cedric Diggory asked me to the ball!"

"That's...great," I fake smiled.

Aaralyn looked at me with great sympathy and then sarcastically smiled at Cho. When Cho turned to leave, Aaralyn flipped her off. Once they left, I felt tears brim in my eyes.

"I feel so stupid," I muttered.

Aaralyn scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Don't," she said, "If anyone here is stupid it's Cedric. He shouldn't have played you like that. You don't deserve that."

"That...that..." I couldn't say it.

"Say it," Aaralyn said, "Yell it if you have to. Trust me it'll make you feel better."

I breathed in.

"THAT ASSHOLE!" I shouted.

Aaralyn jumped back a little with shock.

"There," she said, "You feel better now?"

I sighed and hung my head.

"Not really," I said, "Now I'll be going to the ball by myself. I'll look like a complete idiot."

"No you won't," Aaralyn said.

"When a guy goes by himself it's fine," I said, "But when a girl goes alone it's just embarrassing."

I rested my head on the palm of my hand while I propped my arm on my knee. I heard Aaralyn sigh and then she got up. She moved in front of my and got down on her knees. She forced me to look her in the eyes.

"Rosaline Moriali," she said, "Would you go to the ball with me?"  
>I couldn't help but smile. I pulled her into a hug and she gladly hugged me back. Aaralyn was too good of a friend. She'd do anything just make me smile.<p>

"Thanks Aaralyn," I said.

She smiled and then got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To find Cedric so I can punch him in the face," she said.

I jumped up and stopped her from going out the door.

"I get it," I said, "You hate seeing me hurt, but please don't damage Cedric. As much as he deserves it, I'd rather not see him hurt."

Aaralyn groaned and sat back down.

"But one of these days I _will _break his nose," she muttered.

I laughed and thanked her with another hug.


	8. You Never Mess With Aaralyn White

**A/N: I have returned! You didn't miss me did you? Thank you im-the-doctor and muentiger for reviewing the last chapter. Well this chapter is a filler. Some _very _interesting events occur; nothing major, but something shocking. I'm already starting the 8th chapter because it continues on from where this chapter leaves off. So enjoy and review!**

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><p>What I never understood about dances was the "uniform." Girls had to wear dresses, boys had to wear suits and ties. To me, everyone was wearing a bunch of monkey suits. I promised myself that I would wear dress the day that hell froze over. But since this was for Rosaline, I might as well make an exception.<p>

I sat by my usual spot; the tree next to the Black Lake. I was reading a book that Rosaline had suggested to me. I did enjoy reading ever once in a while, but I never had time to. I had just finished the second to last chapter, when I was interrupted by footsteps.

I looked up to see a familiar face, but I couldn't put a name with it. He flicked his silver blonde hair out of his eyes and smirked at me. Then it hit me; it was that guy that got transfigured by Professor Moody. I think his name was Malfoy or something like that.

"May I have a word?" he asked.

"No," I said, "There, that was a word. Now go."

He chuckled and sat down next to me. I scooted an inch away since he was so uncomfortably close.

"So the Yule Ball is coming up," he said.

"You think I don't know that?" I asked.

"Of course you know that," he smirked, "So I don't have a date."

"Well isn't that a shame," I sarcastically muttered.

"And no one else will go with me," he said.

"Not surprised," I muttered.

"So how about you go with me," he said. It was more of a demand than it was a question.

"No," I said, "For three reasons: One, you didn't ask, you demanded that I should go with you. Two, you came to me as a last resort which is quite insulting. And three, you're an asshole. No wonder no one wants to go with you."

"How _dare _you talk to me like that," he hissed.

"Oh I'm terrified," I said sarcastically.

"No one talks like that to Draco Malfoy," he spat.

"I believe I just did," I said.

I slammed my book shut and walked away.

Rosaline's POV

I was sitting in the Ravenclaw common room, smiling to myself. Suddenly Aaralyn came storming in. She groaned and then plopped down on the couch next to me. She stared at the fireplace, with a curious, wondering look on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing's wrong," she sighed, "I'm just curious."

"About?" I begged for her to continue.

"Draco Malfoy asked me to the ball," she said.

"Isn't that the Slytherin kid who was turned into a ferret?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, "And he turned to me as a last resort."

"How rude," I gasped.

"I know," she said, "But still, why would he turn to _me _as the last choice? I didn't even know I was noticed by guys here."

"Well you hang out with a girl who has electric blue hair," I shrugged, "I'm sure you're going to get noticed by someone."

"I guess so," she sighed. "But either way, I said no."

"I would have said no, too," I said.

"Well because we're going with each other anyway," Aaralyn said.

"Um...yeah," I nodded.

I forgot all about it. This isn't good.

"What?" she asked.

"N-nothing," I stuttered.

"You're lying," she started to growl.

"Alright," I sighed, "Just don't get mad."

"You know, telling me not to get mad will just make me madder."

"Well," I paused, "Someone might have...possibly...asked me to go to the ball with them."  
>"Oh really?" Aaralyn asked curiously, "And who might this person be?"<p>

"Dean Thomas," I sighed.

Aaralyn shrugged.

"Okay," she said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I'm okay with it," she smiled, "You get to go to the ball with an actual date and I don't have to go."

"Oh no you don't," I demanded, "You're still going."

"What?" Aaralyn whined. "Why?"

"Because I said so," I ordered.

Aaralyn crossed her arms and groaned.

"Oh don't be a big baby about it," I sighed.

"But I'll have to wear a dress," she said, "_Me _in a _dress_."

"Yes I know," I said, "It's physically impossible, but it's going to happen."

"Fine," Aaralyn sighed.

Aaralyn's POV

We were in our Study Hall class with Gryffindor. I was busy writing in my notebook when I overheard Fred and George. I looked up and saw Fred pass a note to Ron. Ron read it and then looked back at Fred.

"Who're you going with then?" he whispered.

Fred crumpled up the note and then threw it at Angelina.

"Oi!" he whispered to her, "Angelina!"

She rolled her eyes and turned to Fred annoyed. She made a gestured as if she were saying, 'what do you want, git?' Fred mouthed 'would you like to go the ball with me?' while making dancing gestures with his hands. It was hilarious and I almost got in trouble for laughing. Angelina smiled and nodded her head. Then Fred smiled proudly at his accomplishment.

"Psst," Rosaline whispered.

"What?" I whispered. I didn't want to get in trouble for talking. Snape would probably slap me upside my head with a thick textbook.

"Have you found someone to go to the ball with yet?" Rosaline asked.

"No," I said as if it was a dumb question.

"Well hurry," she whispered, "Before all of the good ones are taken."

I rolled my eyes and continued to work. I was never going to find a date. I probably _would _end up going with Malfoy. I shivered and shook my head at the thought. Once I was finished I handed in my notebook to Professor Snape. He eyed me curiously but took my book anyway. I grabbed the rest of my books.

"I'll be in the library," I whispered to Rosaline.

She nodded and I then walked out of the classroom. I sighed deeply once I was out the door. Having Snape watching your every move was so uncomfortable. I finally reached the library and pulled out my Potions book.

It wasn't a couple of hours until I heard a group of people walking by. Most of them were Hufflepuff. Then there was one Ravenclaw girl; Cho Chang. I groaned on the inside and rolled my eyes. I wasn't surprised when I saw Cedric hooked onto her. I had the _greatest _urge to just march up to him and hit him square in the jaw. And then I'd probably slap Cho in the face. I sighed and then continued reading.

Suddenly I heard someone sit in front of me. I looked up and became completely shocked when I saw Cedric sitting across from me.

"You're friends with Rosaline, right?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, almost in a hissing tone, "What do _you _care?"

"Well I thought you would answer a question I have," he said.

"Is it about her?" I asked.

He nodded. I sighed and then shut my book.

"Could we discuss this somewhere else?" I asked.

"Sure," he said.

I stood up and then walked out of the library. I just stood outside of the library and waited for Cedric to come out. He finally reached me and we started to talk.

"I haven't seen Rosaline around lately," he said.

"No shit," I muttered.

"So is she avoiding me?" he asked.

"Oh my _God_," I said, "Seriously, how stupid are you?"

"What?" he asked dumbfounded.

"Of course she's avoiding you," I spat, "You crushed her. You led her on and then you decided to take that whore to the ball. She _liked _you, moron."

Cedric just stood there wide-eyed and shocked. Of course the idiot had no idea he was doing that. What a dumb-ass.

"Uh...I..um," he was speechless.

"Don't say anything," I said, "Now I suggest that you apologize to her. Or else I'll murder you in sleep."

"Uh...okay," he said.

I sighed and nodded. I started to walk away, but then I stopped. I then turned around and punched Cedric square in the jaw. I pulled my now bloody fist back and watched him tumble to the ground.

"That's for hurting my best friend," I growled.

Then I walked away.

I was sitting in the common room, bored out of my mind. I shoved my hands in my pockets, and then felt something in one of them. I pulled it out, and saw it was the emerald from before. I fiddled with it for a while, staring at it sub-consciously. I wondered what I would do with it. Suddenly I felt a light bulb go off in my head. I ran up to my dorm and rummaged through my drawers. I suddenly found it, a silver chain that was missing the jewel that was supposed to hang from it. I had also found it by the Black Lake a few days after I found the jewel.

I carefully placed the emerald in; it fit perfectly, as if it was always a part of the necklace. It was simple yet quite beautiful. I unclasped the chain and then placed it around my neck. I smiled and then went back down to the common room. Rosaline was now sitting there with the most disappointed look on her face. She then turned her head my way and glared.

"You just _had _to punch him, didn't you," she said.

She was obviously talking about Cedric.

"Yes," I said simply.

"Come on Aaralyn," she complained, "I told you not to."

"And do I ever listen to you?" I asked.

She sighed and then shook her head no.

"Then don't be surprised," I shrugged.

She nodded.

"Aren't you even a _little _happy about it?" I asked.

She smiled and giggled.

"Maybe a little," she said.

"Come on," I said, "Everyone's taking a trip to Hogsmeade and I _really _want to go."

"I agree," Rosaline said.

We ran out of the common room and followed the crowd of people that were going to Hogsmeade. We found Hermione somewhere in the crowd and joined her.

"So I heard some interesting gossip," Hermione giggled.

"Oh really?" I asked.

"I heard that Dean Thomas asked you to the ball," Hermione said to Rosaline.

She blushed and laughed.

"Maybe he did," she shrugged.

"I think that's sweet," Hermione said.

"He's a nice guy," I said.

Rosaline nodded, agreeing to both of our comments.

"_Also_," Hermione added, "I heard that someone punched Cedric Diggory in the jaw."

I smiled deviously as Hermione looked at me curiously.

"What?" I asked fake innocently.

"Oh you know what," Rosaline said.

"Alright," I sighed, "I punched Cedric. It was for a good cause."

"I know it was," Hermione said, "I wanted to congratulate you."

I smiled proudly and bowed.

"Thank you," I said.

Rosaline and Hermione laughed and then we continued on to Hogsmeade.

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><p><strong>AN: Remember this is technically not a cliff hanger. Chapter 8 will be posted up very soon. Probably somewhere between later today or early tomorrow. REVIEW!**


	9. Hogsmeade and Torturous Dress Shopping

**A/N: I would like to thank my loyal reviews, muentiger and im-the-doctor, for review yesterday's chapter. You guys get virtual hugs; I hope you are virtually happy :). So this chapter is a little more fluffy and sweet than the others. And I'd also like to apologize ahead if it's mostly boring because I was busy doing laundry and I'm a little brain dead. So enjoy and review!**

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><p>We finally made it to Hogsmeade and already I was having a great time. The snow covered the ground, making everything sparkle. It looked like a winter wonderland; I liked it a lot. Rosaline and I immediately went to Honeydukes.<p>

Rosaline's eyes went wide when she saw all the candy there was. Let's just say she has a major sweet tooth.

"I think I died I went to heaven," she said.

I laughed and nodded my head in agreement.

Rosaline then quickly grabbed a bag and filled it with Chocolate Wands, Sugared Butterfly Wings and Salt Water Taffy. I grabbed a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and few Liquorice Wands. We paid for our candy and then went to another store. Rosaline wanted to go the Three Broomsticks Inn.

It was quite warm and cozy. It was a bit smoky and definitely crowded. We finally found a place to sit. I peeled off my coat as Rosaline pulled off her hat. She shook her a few snowflakes off of her blue hair and then brushed off her hat.

Suddenly Hermione came over and sat with us.

"Hey," she said as she pulled off her scarf.

"Hi," Rosaline said.

I nodded my head, since I was too busy chewing on a Liquorice Wand.

"I see you guys went to Honeydukes," Hermione giggled as she saw Rosaline's big bag of candy. We both nodded and laughed.

Suddenly I saw Hermione's face turn serious. I turned to where she was looking; Cedric Diggory and his group of friends had come in. Rosaline awkwardly looked down at her hands. I glared as Cedric passed by our table. I noticed he had a busted lip that was still healing. I smirked at the memory of causing that injury. It served the asshole right.

"Shouldn't you at least apologize for busting his lip?" Hermione asked.

"Hell no," I said, "Once he stops being an ass, dumps Cho, and apologizes to Rosaline, _then _maybe I'll apologize to him."

Hermione shrugged and drank her butterbeer. Rosaline was still looking at her hands. She was quiet the entire we talked.

"Rosaline," I said.

She looked up as if she was zoned out the whole time.

"What?" she asked.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine."

"Do you want to get out of here?" I asked.

She sighed and nodded. We got up and left.

"Hey I'm going to go to Tomes and Scrolls," Rosaline said.

"Alright," I nodded and then she walked off.

I walked around, seeing what else there was at Hogsmeade. I found a store called Zonko's Joke Shop. A curious grin appeared on my face and I gladly went inside. Once I entered, I saw shelves filled jokes and tricks that blew me away. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I giggled a little at my excitement.

I roamed the shelves, looking to see what would create the best prank of all the ones I pulled. But I didn't know where to start.

"Looking for something specific?" I heard someone ask.

I turned around and saw the Weasley twins.

"Just looking for something to prank with," I shrugged, "Do you guys have suggestions?"

"Well," Fred started.

"If you want to really stink things up-" George said.

"I'd suggest using Dungbombs," Fred finished the sentence.

"It's a bomb that gives off a putrid odor," George chuckled.

"Quite foul," Fred said while handing me the box.

"Interesting," I muttered.

"Or Frog Spawn Soap," George suggested.

"It's a soap that has frog eggs in it," Fred explained.

"Nice," I laughed.

Fred and George showed me several other jokes to use. It was kind of obvious they came here all the time.

"Thanks for the advice guys," I said, leaving the shop with them and my bag filled with pranks.

"Anytime Aaralyn," Fred said.

"We love helping out our fellow pranksters," George added.

"Well I'll see you around," I said as I walked away.

I then walked off to Tomes and Scrolls to find Rosaline. We met up in the bookshop and then we went back for Hogwarts.

Rosaline's POV

I was going to meet Aaralyn at her usual spot by the Black Lake. She wanted to tell me something 'important.' The last time she wanted to tell me something important was when she wanted to borrow $20 for the latest Star Wars video game. Good Lord she could be a complete nerd sometimes; and I don't mean the book nerd. I was almost near the lake when George stopped me in my path.

"Hey Rosaline," he said.

"Hey George," I smiled.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Technically you already did," I said smartly, "But go ahead anyway."

"Uh, well," George paused, "It's about Aaralyn."

I noticed the slightest color of pink bloomed on his cheeks.

"Yes?" I asked for him to continue.

"Um..is she...well," he was lost for words.

"Spit it out," I ordered impatiently.

"Is she going to the ball?" George asked.

"Yeah, why do you-" I then stopped, realizing what he wanted. I smiled excitedly and giggled.

"What?" he asked.

"You're going to ask her to the ball," I gasped.

George looked down at his feet and blushed. Oh this was just too cute.

"Maybe," he muttered.

I awed, which made him more embarrassed.

"Shut up," he said.

"I never knew you liked Aaralyn," I said.

"Well," George paused, "I didn't know either. I mean, I thought she was funny and devious. But then I actually got to know her. I noticed that she's also smart, independent, caring and very mischievous. I like that about her."

George was smiling so brightly as he talked about Aaralyn. I couldn't help but smile myself. It was true what he was saying about her, but the way he made it sound was adorable. It made her sound like a whole other person; she sounded, almost perfect.

"Well if you're going to ask her to the ball," I said, "Then go ask her. She's at the lake right now."

"Really?" George asked, "Thanks."

He quickly rushed off. I couldn't even imagine Aaralyn's face when he was going to ask her. Hopefully she would say yes. I knew that she didn't want to go with Malfoy; and George was really sweet. So, why not say yes?

Aaralyn's POV

It was cold out; the thinnest layer of frost covered the grass. The lake was still, but not frozen. The bitter winter air nipped at my ears and nose. It was almost too cold for me to handle. I was getting irritated; Rosaline _still_ wasn't here. I kept looking around me, trying to see if she was coming or not. I tried to ignore my impatience and continued to draw. My latest vision was quite odd. It was me in a dress, which isn't the only odd part, and some guy. But I couldn't see who he was; his whole figure was blacked out. He was nothing but a shadow. It bugged me that I didn't know who he was. Suddenly my thoughts and curiosity was interrupted by the presence of another person.

"Do you mind if I join you?" I heard someone ask. I looked up and saw George Weasley looking down at where I was sitting.

"Not at all," I smiled.

He then sat down next to me.

"Isn't it a little cold to be sitting out here?" George asked.

"I like it out here," I shrugged, "And the cold doesn't bother me as much."

George chuckled at my strangeness.

"So what brings you out here?" I asked.

"Well I came for some advice," George said.

"Oh," I said, "And for what, may I ask?"

"There's this girl-" George started.

"Whoa, whoa," I interrupted, "I should warn you, I'm not good at girl advice. Even though I _am _a girl, I'm not one for romance stuff."

"Just let me finish," George sighed.

"Alright, go ahead," I said.

"There's this girl that I like," George restarted, "She's funny, devious and quite the prankster; which I absolutely love in a girl. But whenever I have the chance to ask her to the ball, I chicken out. I keep thinking that she'll not only turn me down, but also insult me terribly. She did humiliate this one boy when he asked her to the ball. But then again, he was being an ass about it."

"Well," I thought for a moment, "I'm brutally honest, so I usually like it when a guy just comes out and asks me. And also doesn't act like a douche bag when he asks. I don't like something over the top, I find it ridiculous. So just tell her how you feel and ask her to the ball. The chances are great that she will say yes."

"You think so?" George asked.

"Absolutely," I said.

"Thanks," he smiled. He then got up and left.

It felt nice to give people advice. Whoever George has got a crush on is really lucky. George had his rough edges but he was a real sweetheart. He knew how to cheer people up. Sometimes his smile by itself could brighten your day. Come to think of it, I was sort of jealous of this girl he liked.

"So did George ask you?" Rosaline asked me.

"Ask me what?" I asked.

"You mean he hasn't asked you yet?" Rosaline seemed frustrated.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused.

Rosaline slammed her book shut and stood up.

"Excuse me one moment," she said.

She then stormed out of the library. What the hell was that all about? I tried ignoring it, and continued reading. But it just stayed glued in the back of my head. Rosaline soon returned, with George being dragged behind her. She forcefully sat him down and then she left again.

"What is she so mad about?" I asked.

"Uh...I...don't know," George said.

"It doesn't sound like you don't," I said curiously.

"Well," George paused, "I actually do know."  
>"Really?" I asked, "So what's going on?"<p>

"She's mad at me," George said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I was supposed to do something and never did," he sighed.

"You better do it then," I said, "Rosaline's _really _good at holding grudges against each other."

George nodded.

"Aaralyn," he said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Will you go to the ball with me?" he asked.

My eyes went wide. I was completely shocked. Then it all hit me, like a huge punch in the face. The girl he liked was a prankster, devious and insulted the last guy that asked her to the ball. I have been known for all of those things, and I did tell off Malfoy when he asked...well more like demanded that I'd go to the ball with him. This whole time, George Weasley had a crush on _me_.

"I think I should explain first," George said, "Aaralyn I think you're funny, smart, pretty, devious and one of the only pranksters that are as mischievous as me and Fred. I've never met a girl like you. You're so much different then anyone I know. I like you."

I couldn't help but blush. I fiddled with my fingers as I tried to contain my excitement. It's been a long time since someone has said something like that to me.

"So will you go to the ball with me?" he asked.

"Yes," I smiled.

"Really?" George was shocked.

"Did you think I was going to say no?" I asked.

"Well," George paused, "Yeah."

"Well I didn't," I shrugged.

"Yeah you didn't," George smiled.

I smiled back.

"See you later," George said.

He then walked off and then Rosaline came running in.

"So did he _finally _ask you?" she asked.

I nodded and grinned from ear to ear. Rosaline squealed and laughed.

"Thank God," she said. "I thought I would have to kick his ass."

I laughed and shook my head at her.

"You're so odd," I sighed.

"I know," Rosaline smiled, "Come on, we'll have to go dress shopping pretty soon."

"Gross," I muttered.

Rosaline had pulled so many dresses off the racks. I was starting to get a headache from all of the ruffles and sparkles and frilly fabrics. Rosaline would come out of the dressing room every 5 minutes, wearing a different dress. This time when she came out, she was wearing a poofy lime green dress. I almost gagged at how disgusting it was. I immediately shook my head no and she went back to the dressing room. Then it was a frilly blue dress, then a bright red dress, a super short hot pink dress. Finally I stopped her in her tracks.

"All of the dresses you've picked out are ridiculous," I said.

Rosaline sighed and nodded.

"I'm not good at this," she said.

"Obviously," I muttered sarcastically.

I looked through the rest of the dresses she picked out. Most of them were either too colorful, too loose, too frilly, too irritatingly bright or had too much sparkle.

"Good Lord," I mumbled.

But finally I found it; it was not too decorated and not too simple. It was a one-strap silky dress with two sparkly black strips of fabric that wrapped around the torso. I handed it to Rosaline for her to try on. She looked at the dress curiously but went into the dressing room anyway. I waited for a moment, and then Rosaline opened the dressing room door. I gasped, it was the perfect dress for her.

"So I'm guessing it looks good," Rosaline said.

"No shit," I giggled. "You're getting it."

"Great!" Rosaline squealed, "Now it's your turn."

My excitement transformed into misery. I groaned and rolled my eyes. Rosaline handed me at least 10 dresses to try on. It felt like I died I went to hell. And the dresses kept coming. I came out of the dressing room wearing a puffy sleeved white dress.

"What do you think?" Rosaline asked.

"I look like a puffy white bird," I said.

I rolled my eyes and then tried on another dress. This time it was shaped like a tutu and it was neon blue.

"What about that one?" Rosaline asked.

"Does the term 'cruel and unusual punishment' mean _anything _to you?" I asked frustrated.

"It's not that bad," Rosaline said.

"Not that bad?" I repeated, "I look like a freakin' ballerina!"

Rosaline just shrugged. She really wasn't good at this. I looked through the rest of the dresses that she had picked out for me. I hated all of them.

"How about _I _pick out the dresses from now on," I suggested.

Rosaline nodded in agreement. I started to search the rest of the store. Rosaline would pull out a dress every now and then to suggest, but all of them were definitely not for me. But I couldn't find anything either. Maybe I should give up.

"Aaralyn," Rosaline said.

"What?" I asked.

I turned to see she was holding yet another dress. I was about to complain, but she stopped me.

"Trust me on this one," she said, "Just try it on."

"Fine," I groaned.

I snatched the dress from her hands and went to the dressing room. I didn't want to have to wear _another _ridiculous dress. I zipped it on, without looking at myself in the mirror. I walked out of the dressing room and Rosaline went wide-eyed. She gasped and then smiled.

"What?" I asked.

She took my hand and dragged me to the mirror. Then I went wide-eyed. I looked...surprisingly good. It was a long, red, strapless dress that flowed elegantly down to the floor. I'd never thought I'd see the day wear I thought I looked good in a dress. Rosaline saw my reaction and smirked.

"I knew you'd like it," she said.

"Shut up," I muttered as I started to blush.


	10. Night of a Lifetime

**A/N: I completely apologize for not posting this yesterday. For some reason the site was being weird and would not let me upload the chapter. I was so frustrated I just gave up. So anyways thank you im-the-doctor and muentiger for reviewing! So this chapter is pretty exciting. It's the chapter we've ALL been waiting for. Drum roll please...IT'S THE YULE BALL! EEEEEP! So get reading people! And review!**

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><p>Tonight was the night of the ball. No matter how many times I told myself that the Yule Ball wasn't a big deal, I was still so nervous about going. I could feel butterflies filling my stomach quickly and stars kept flashing by my eyes. I kept telling myself to suck it up and shake off the nerves but they kept crawling back into my system. It was just a silly ball. Why should I be nervous?<p>

"Because you like George," Rosaline said, answering my question.

I turned around, shocked and curious.

"What do you now read minds?" I asked.

"You were talking to yourself," Rosaline smirked.

I rolled my eyes and blushed.

"Maybe a little," I muttered.

Rosaline awed, making me blush even more.

"George and Aaralyn sitting in a tree," Rosaline hummed, "K-I-S-S-"

"Shut up," I snapped.

"Oh calm down," she teased.

She took her dress that was lying on her bed and went to the other room to change. She came back out in a couple of minutes, and definitely blew me away.

"Do I look good?" she asked.

"Dean's a lucky guy," I nodded, "So if he hurts you, I'll kick his ass."

She laughed and nodded in agreement. As she finished getting ready, I decided it was time to put on my dress. Once it was zipped up all the way, I nervously breathed in and out. It was almost like a marking point for my path to going to the ball. I was almost there. I came out again and Rosaline was fully ready. Her blue hair was pulled into a bun with a few strands of hair falling out. Each strand was curled perfectly. She only had a small amount of make up; a little gloss on her lips, a dab of eyeshadow, a touch of mascara and eyeliner.

"You look great," I smiled.

"Well you look really pretty," Rosaline squealed, "George's eyes are going to fall out of his sockets!"  
>I blushed and smiled in thanks. Then I finished getting ready. I curled my hair and pinned one side back. I only put on eyeliner, mascara and a little lip gloss and I was ready to go. I was still nervous as ever. I could feel my knees shake a little as I stood up. I breathed deeply and smiled nervously.<p>

"Let's go!" Rosaline squealed.

She took my arm and we left for the Great Hall. As we got there I saw Hermione hiding behind the wall. She looked even more nervous than I was. But she did look good.

"Hermione?" Rosaline asked in surprise.

She turned to us, startled. She then sighed in relief.

"Oh," she laughed nervously, "Hi Rosaline."

She then turned to me and her eyes widened.

"Aaralyn?" she asked.

"The one and only," I shrugged.

"You look beautiful," she said.

"Thanks," I said, "You look incredible, too."

"We all might as well go together," Rosaline shrugged.

I nodded in agreement, as did Hermione. One by one we all went down the stairs. I could see Harry with his date, Pavarti. And then I saw Cedric, with that _whore_. But I just brushed them off and continued down the stairs. Pavarti and Harry were staring at us in awe. Suddenly Viktor Krum came our way. He bowed towards Hermione and then extended his hand. She took it and anxiously waved at us. Her date was Viktor Krum? I'm impressed.

"I am shocked," Harry said.

"What?" I asked.

"I thought you weren't the one for dances," Harry said.

"I changed my mind," I shrugged.

"Excuse me but I see my date," Rosaline said, leaving us.

She walked over to Dean and he bowed to her. He was such a gentleman. As she took his hand he smirked and kissed it. Rosaline swooned and giggled. This guy was being too good to her. I couldn't help but look over at Cedric; the look on his face was filled with not only shock, but jealousy. I smirked at his misfortune. Maybe if the idiot hadn't broken Rosaline's heart then it would be _him_ taking her to the ball. I almost felt sorry for Cedric...almost.

"So did you come here with a date?" Harry asked.

"Surprisingly, yes," I answered.

"Really?" Harry asked, "And who might it be?"

I heard someone cough to interrupt us. Whoever it was, was behind Harry. I looked up and saw it was George. He looked at me in total shock and awe. Harry was shocked, too, but for different reasons. He kept looking from me to George and then again and again.

"Well it was nice talking to you Harry," I smiled.

I walked passed him and towards George.

"Hi," I said.

"Uh..uh," George stuttered, trying to remember what he was going to say. "You look..._wow_."

"I don't think that's considered a describing word," I said, "But I'll take it anyway. Thank you. And you look pretty good as well."

"Oh, yeah," George said.

He seemed to finally snap out of it and smile at me. He brought his arm for me.

"Shall we?" he smirked.

I smirked as well and took his arm.

"We shall," I smiled.

We walked into the Great Hall and I was amazed. It looked even better than the drawing. The room was lit up and it was covered in white and crystal blue. It was better than a winter wonderland; it was a dreamland. The snow flew gracefully from the ceiling and melted as it hit the tile. The teachers had us make an aisle for the champions to come through, since they were the first to dance. George took me over to were Fred was with his date. Fred and Angelina, his date, looked surprised.

"Hey Fred," George said, "You guys know Aaralyn."

"Uh yeah," Fred said slowly, "Are you sure that's Aaralyn?"  
>"Of course it's me dumb-ass," I said, "You see me don't you?"<p>

"Yeah it's definitely her," he nodded.

I rolled my eyes and laughed a little.

"Aarlayn you look amazing," Angelina said.

Why does everyone keep saying that?

"Thanks," I said, "You look really good, too."

"Well I do try my best," Angelina blushed.

"Hey look they're starting," Fred said.

We all turned to the dance floor and saw all four champions in position. The music started and the champions started to dance. At first it didn't look like Harry knew what he was doing. He had the slightest look of confusion hidden in his face. Hermione looked like she was having a great time. In every twirl, she giggled and gazed into Viktor's eyes. Cedric looked, well, he didn't look like anything. He looked stone cold serious. I guess the surprise of Rosaline at the ball was a real kick in the face for him.

Then Dumbledore and McGonnagall came onto the dance floor and started to dance in unison with the group. Couple by couple, the dance floor started to fill up. It started to look identical to the drawing in my sketchbook. Then I felt George tugged on my arm a little. Before I knew it I was on the dance floor myself.

"I should warn you," I said, "I'm not that good of a dancer."

"Don't worry about it," George said.

He took my hand into his and held onto my waist with other arm. Then we started to move with the crowd. I was actually dancing. I was nervous with every move made. What if I tripped over my feet or accidentally bumped into someone? I could feel myself panic, but then I looked at George and the fear was gone. Suddenly everyone in the room disappeared; it was just me and him. My body relaxed and flowed loosely with the dance. George picked me up and spun me in the air. I smiled a little as I made spin back onto the ground. He continued to twirl me around and move me across the room. For my first dance, I didn't do that bad. But George was a better dancer than me so most of it was his doing. At the end of the song he gracefully dipped me back and the rest of the crowd clapped.

"You didn't tell me you could dance," I said as he brought me back up.

"You didn't ask," he smartly replied.

Rosaline's POV

I didn't know where to start with Dean. He was charming, kind, sweet, funny, clever, and quite the gentleman. He didn't think of me as a freak or a weirdo; he saw me as any other person. I enjoyed being with him. It seemed like he would do anything to make me smile or laugh.

I went over to the punch table to meet up with Aaralyn. She stood there with the biggest grin on her face.

"I saw you two on the dance floor," I smirked, "I didn't know George could dance like that."

"Neither did I," she shrugged. "But enough of me. What about you and Dean?"

I blushed and giggled.

"He's nice," I said simply.

"Nice?" Aaralyn repeated, "This guy is a complete gentleman to you and all you say is that he's _nice_?"

"I'm kidding," I playfully rolled my eyes, "He's really sweet, nice, funny and everything he does makes me smile."

"That's more like it," Aaralyn smirked.

I sighed deeply but then became serious.

"What is it?" Aaralyln asked.

"When Division is gone," I said, "We'll have to leave all of this."

Aaralyn's face sunk.

"Yeah," she said, "It's really going to suck. I like it here."

"Me, too," I said.

"How would we even leave?" Aaralyn asked, "Do we just disappear in the middle of the night without saying goodbye? That's harsh."

"Yeah and people would be worried," I said.

"Half of the year has almost passed," Aaralyn said, "I wouldn't want to leave behind all this."

"Neither of us do," I said.

"But we'll have to anyway," Aaralyn sighed.

"What are you two talking about?" I heard someone asked.

We both turned around to see Ron looking at us oddly.

"N-nothing," I stuttered, "Right Aaralyn?"  
>"Yeah," Aaralyn lied with me, "Nothing at all."<p>

Ron just looked back from me to Aaralyn and then shook his head. He walked away, while curiously glancing back at us every now and then.

"That was close," I sighed.

"Extremely," Aaralyn said. She looked behind me and glared. "And more trouble is on the way."

I turned around and saw no one else, but Cedric Diggory. Aaralyn glared daggers at him and was ready to charge but I held her back.

"I'll take care of it this time," I said.

She sighed and walked by Cedric while giving him her signature death glare.

"I believe I owe you an apology," Cedric said.

"Damn right you do," I spat.

"I didn't exactly treat you right," Cedric continued.

"Oh no shit," I said sarcastically, "You screwed with my mind. You made me think that you liked me and then you decide to take the Ravenclaw whore to the ball. Wow, that's smooth."

"Cho's not a whore," Cedric defended.

"Well I disagree," I said, "And so does everyone else in the school."

"I just came to say I'm sorry," he said, "And now you insult my girlfriend."  
>"Oh so now she's your girlfriend?" I asked, "I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd be into commitment. I figured you just use every other girl in Hogwarts like you did with me. Make them feel special, tell them they're different, make them fall head over heals for you. God you're pathetic."<p>

"I don't need to hear this," Cedric said.

"I think you do," I said, "You are an asshole. You think that you're the greatest guy out there but you're not. I've realized that there are _hundreds _of guys in this school that are better than you."

Cedric looked down at his feet shamefully.

"You're right," he sighed.

"What?" I asked shocked.

"I am an asshole," Cedric agreed, "I shouldn't have done that to you."

"Uh..yeah," I said surprised.

I expected him to be the cocky asshole he is and deny everything. But he actually agreed. It blew me away completely.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm truly sorry."

Then he walked away, leaving me even more shocked. Aaralyn came up to me worried.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "What did he say? Did he hurt you? I swear to God I'll-"

"I'm fine," I said, "I told him off."

"Good for you," Aaralyn said.

"And he apologized," I said.

"He just apologized?" Aaralyn asked.

"He was a little mad because I insulted Cho," I said, "And at first he was being an asshole, but then he just stopped and apologized for everything."

"Well," Aaralyn paused, "That's...good. I think."

"I don't know either," I shrugged.

Aaralyn's POV

George escorted me back to the Ravenclaw common room. I stood in front of the common room door and waited for a moment before I finally said goodbye.

"I had a nice time George," I said, "It was fun."

"Yeah it was," George smiled, "You will need to work on your dancing though."

I rolled my eyes and playfully pushed his shoulder.

"Maybe I just need some lessons," I said.

"I could teach you," he suggested.

"Alright," I smiled.

"It's a date then," he smirked.

I smiled and then turned to leave. But George grabbed my wrist to hold me back. He gently pulled me closer and then kissed my cheek.

"Bye," he said.

And then he left. I walked into the common room completely dazed. Rosaline was sitting on the couch, staring at the fire. I sighed deeply and plopped down next to her.

"That was surprisingly fun," I said.

Rosaline looked at me shocked. But then she shrugged and smirked at me.

"I knew you'd like it," she said.

"Well I did go with a great guy," I said, "Who I have another date with."

"Well I'm glad you had fun," she said.

"Whatever," I scoffed, "Come on, let's wash this crap off."

"And then the fun ends," she sighed as we walked back upstairs.


	11. Tonight, I Love You

**A/N: I would have posted this chapter yesterday but I had to work on my review packet for algebra. Ugggh I had to factor (I hate that stuff so much). So I didn't start writing until 8:00 pm and then my sister told me to turn off my computer to go to bed (we share a room). So I had to finish it this morning. So anyways, this chapter is short but super fluffy. It's dedicated to Ana and Morgane, for giving me the inspiration. Also thank you muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing. I also got a mystery reviewer, guessmyname. Odd. But anyways, enjoy and review!**

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><p>I slowly opened my eyes, awakening to a snow covered window. I rose slowly and stretched my tired muscles. My feet still ached from the high heels and my hair was still had its curls from the ball. I pulled it into a curly ponytail and then sleepily grabbed my cozy bathrobe. I walked down to the common room, and saw Rosaline with a big child-like grin on her face.<p>

"Good morning," I yawned.

"Morning," she giddily replied.

"Why are you so happy this morning?" I asked.

"Don't you know what day it is?" Rosaline gasped.

"Uh..Friday," I slowly said, "Or is Saturday?"  
>"No it's Friday," Rosaline rolled her eyes, "But it's also Christmas!"<p>

I gasped. I completely forgot the Yule Ball was on Christmas Eve.

"You forgot about Christmas?" Rosaline asked shocked.

"It was an eventful night last night," I shrugged.

Rosaline shook her head at me with disappointment. She loved Christmas. I mean she really did love it. It was her favorite holiday out of all of the others. She loved giving and receiving gifts, sitting by the fireplace, being with friends and family, all of that fluffy stuff. While I, on the other hand, have never had a good Christmas. I thought it was a good holiday, but I never had someone to share it with.

"We got a letter," Rosaline said.

"From who?" I asked.

"Nick," she said, handing me the letter.

I quickly grabbed it and read it.

_Dear Rosaline and Aaralyn,_

_ I hope you guys are having a great year at Hogwarts so far. Cassie and I still miss you a lot. Division hasn't been spotted anywhere in London, so I'm guessing that we are safe from them for a long time. But it still worries me because that means it will a little longer before you guys can come back home. Cassie keeps telling me that you will both be fine, but you're my family, I'm supposed to worry about you._

_ Rosaline, I know that things have been hard for you recently. Don't ask how I know about Cedric, I just do. So don't start yelling at the paper on how the hell I know about your personal life or accuse Aaralyn for telling you about it; because she didn't tell me, Cassie did. What, she's a Watcher, she's bound to see something about you. So anyways, this Cedric guy doesn't deserve you. Whoever he picked over you for is obviously a whore. And if he ever hurts you again I'll come over to Hogwarts, hunt him down, and kick his ass._

_ Aaralyn, remember when I first met you? You were hiding in an alley behind a bunch of garbage cans and I was getting beat up by muggers. You jumped out and kicked their asses pretty hard for someone who was 13. I then brought you back home and let stay there for the night. I just remember thinking, as I watched you sleep on the couch, that I was probably going to be stuck with you. And I was. I have to admit, at first you were a pain, but then you grew on me. A little bit of you was attached to me in some way I couldn't describe. I never told you this, but the last thing my father told me was that not only was I going to be a great man but that I was going to be a great protector and brother. I'm guessing now he was talking about you. You know that I think of you as a sister and I know you think of me as a brother. So I'm officially admitting it right now; I love you, little sister._

_ Both of you stay out of trouble and stay under the radar. It'll be over before we all know it._

_Love,_

_Nick_

It wasn't until I finished the letter when I realized that I was crying. I quickly wiped away the tears and breathed away the rest that were about to fall. It was actually the first time I ever cried because I was happy. I smiled and laughed a little at my weakness. Rosaline sat down next to me and hugged me tightly. She pulled away and looked at me oddly.

"I've never seen you cry from joy before," she said.

"Me neither," I said.

"It was nice to hear from him though," she sighed.

I nodded and refolded the letter. Rosaline then tugged on my wrist to take me somewhere.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"Going to open our presents," she said.

"We have presents?" I asked shocked.

"Yeah," she said as if it was a dumb question, "You didn't think that Nick would send a sappy letter, would he?"

I laughed and shrugged. Nick was never for the sappiness anyway. Rosaline handed me two gifts as she pulled out two gifts that were for her. The first one was a small box wrapped in shiny green paper. Since my curiosity was already swimming madly in my mind, I quickly ripped off the paper and opened the box. In it was a silver locket with vines engraved into the circle pendant. I opened it to find a picture of me, Rosaline and Cassie. It was taken a year ago when we were in Hong Kong. It was one of the only peaceful days we had there. A card was also in the box. I opened the card to find Cassie's handing writing scratched into it. _Keep a piece of me with you while you're there_, it read. I then opened the next gift. It was a journal with a leather cover. My name was engraved in the corner of the front cover. I opened it and seeing a card within it. _Here's for all the memories you will have, Nick _it read.

I looked up and saw that Rosaline also got a locket and a bracelet. She admired them both as much as I did mine. We were both wearing our lockets. It was almost like it was our way of keeping our secret even safer; it was locked away and out of site.

I sat back down on the couch and opened up my new journal. I took out a pen and started to write. I wrote about what my life was like and how I lived through the suffering. Once I finished the entry I closed the journal and kept it hidden in my night stand.

Rosaline's POV

The bitter wind cut through me like a sharp knife. I could feel the cold rattling through my bones as I walked back from the lake. There wasn't any snow on the ground, everything was just frozen. I walked across the bridge, quickly rushing to get back inside, when I bumped into someone. I stumbled back a little and looked up to see who I ran into. It was Cedric. He was a little shocked to see me, but it wasn't like I wasn't. I stood there awkwardly. I tried to move aside but Cedric moved along with me. I tried going the other way but then he followed. He then put his hands up in order for me to stop and then he stepped aside to let me pass.

"Thanks," I muttered as I walked pass.

"Anytime," he nodded.

I just nodded back and tried to get away.

"Rosaline," Cedric stopped me.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"I just wanted to mention," he said, "That you never actually forgave me when I apologized."

"Well maybe I'm not ready to forgive you," I said.

"When will you?" he asked.

"I don't know," I scoffed, "I can't see the future."

"Well what do I have to do to make you forgive me?" he asked. He was practically begging me for his forgiveness. Was he seriously that desperate?

"I don't know," I said honestly, "I just know that I'm not ready to forgive you."

I then finally got the chance to get away.

Aaralyn's POV

I checked how I looked in the mirror one last time. I had to keep myself occupied other wise I'd start thinking about George and then I'd get nervous. Today was our...well I didn't know if I would call it a date. But either was it was us, just me and him, together, alone. And last time I checked if it's just you and a guy alone doing something together then it's a considered. There are some exceptions for that rule but whatever.

I breathed away the anxiety as I walked out of the common room. But it came crawling back when I saw George waiting for me right outside. The lump in my throat reappeared and my knees started to shake. I couldn't have shaky knees when I was learning to dance.

"Hey," he said.

I started to stutter but then I cleared my throat.

"Hi," I smiled.

He brought his hand forward for me to take, which I gladly took. We walked through the hallways of the school, making me curious about where we were actually going. We did talk on the way, and somewhere in between it all our fingers were intertwined. I could feel my heart pound against my chest, dying to burst out of me.

"So where are we going anyway?" I asked.

We suddenly stopped and were standing in front of a wall.

"We're here," he said.

"Is this a joke?" I asked.

Suddenly my question was answered; a door appeared in front of us, completely startling me.

"It's the Room of Requirement," he said, while opening the door.

It revealed a large empty room with mirrors replacing the walls. It was a dance studio.

"The Room of Requirement is a dance studio?" I asked.

"No," he chuckled, "It appears when a person has real need of it, and is always equipped for the seeker's needs."

"Interesting," I said.

"So did you want the dancing lesson or what?" he asked.

"Alright," I laughed. "But to be honest, I'm a little nervous."

"About?" George asked.

"About making myself look like a complete idiot," I sighed.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," he said.

Suddenly I heard music playing; a very nice instrumental. There goes that anxiety again. George found my hand again and led me to the middle of the floor. He placed his other hand on my waist. He guided me around the studio, moving along to the beat of the music. One arm slipped away to twirl me; it then returned to my waist. George's eyes never left mine the entire time. It was almost like his eyes were telling me what to do. The song ended and we just stood there still, with him holding me.

"You see?" he said, "You did fine."

"I guess I did," I smiled.

He smiled back, looking deeper into my eyes. Suddenly he came closer to me. My heart was going at the speed of a roadrunner. Soon our foreheads were pressed together. I was scared to go any farther then that. But obviously he wasn't; because only a moment later our lips were pressed together, too. The kiss was soft and spine tingling. It was cosmic and a exploding sensation. He pulled away with the brightest sparkle in his warm brown eyes.

"Wow," I whispered.

"Yeah," he smiled.

I didn't leave his embrace. I just stayed there gazing into his eyes. I was dying to feel his lips back on mine. I'm guessing I was that obvious because he then kissed me again.


	12. You're In Trouble Now

**A/N: Get ready for an action packed chapter people! There's some drama, action, and a little romance. Probably one of the best chapters I've written so far. So remember to review! Oh and thanks im-the-doctor and muentiger for reviewing!**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

I didn't go to the second task of the tournament; it was just too much for me at the moment. I wanted to root for Harry but seeing Cedric there was just uncomfortable. And I definitely did not want to see his whorish girlfriend there either. I sat in the library, flipping through the pages of random books. I didn't exactly read what was on the pages, I just flipped through the books until I reached the end.

Soon I became completely bored from the library. I started to roam around the school, since everyone else was watching the champions. It was dead silent in the hallways. Probably no one was in the school except for me. I hummed sub-consciously as I looked at the walls that I passed. Every picture looked at me and followed my movement as I walked by. I'm pretty sure that one of the old ladies in a picture sneered at my appearance. I smirked and continued down the hall.

Suddenly I heard shouting behind a door that I went by. I stopped in my tracks and came a little closer to the door.

"Stop being impatient you foul, rat-faced git," someone cursed.

"It's not me that's impatient," another man stuttered, "It's our master."

"You tell him that the boy is in my grasp," the other one said.

"Well hurry," the stuttering man replied, "We need to do the ritual before the end of the tournament. Preferably during the third task."

"I already have it planned out," the other man said, "I've got a way of getting the boy to the Dark Lord without being noticed."

_The Dark Lord? Isn't that Voldemort?_

The only boy that Voldemort wanted was...

"Harry," I whispered.

My eyes widened as I covered my mouth.

"Did you say something?" one of the men asked.

"No," the other one said.

I quickly ran off and hid behind the wall. I heard the door open and someone step out into the hallway.

"I know that someone heard us," a man's voice said.

_That voice. It's sounds so familiar._

"I c-can't be seen here," the other man stuttered. "I must leave. I can hear my master calling me."

"Then go," the other man hissed.

_Where have I heard that voice before? _

The door then shut. l peaked my head into the hallway; there was no one there. I sighed and then walked as far away as I could.

The Dark Lord was trying to return again. And he wanted Harry. Someone in this school was going to help Voldemort get to him. That's why Harry was chosen for the tournament. One of the men must have put his name into the Goblet of Fire. So it was obviously a Professor or someone who worked here. I shook my head as a chill ran down my spine.

Aaralyn entered the common room, smiling gladly. She sat down on the couch as I sat in front of the fire place.

"Who won?" I asked.

"Cedric," she sighed, "But Dumbledore gave Harry second place for not only saving Ron, but also Fleur's little sister."

"That's nice," I said, not really paying attention.

"Are you okay?" Aaralyn asked.

"Well," I paused, "No."

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Harry," I said.

"Is he hurt?" Aaralyn asked worried.

"He's going to be if he stays in the tournament," I said.

"What are you talking about?" Aaralyn asked.

"I was walking around the school when I heard something," I said, "These two guys talking about something. They were talking about Voldemort. They're trying to bring him back."

Aaralyn gasped.

"If he comes back then he'll come for Harry," she said.

"That's the plan," I said. "Once he returns they're going to bring Harry to him. Preferably during the third task."

"We can't let that happen," Aaralyn said, "We've got to stop them."

"How are we supposed to stop them?" I asked, "We don't even know who they are."

"We'll have to follow Harry into the third task," Aaralyn said.

"Are you insane?" I asked, "We'll never get away with that."

"We don't have much time to think of a better plan," she snapped.  
>I sighed and furiously ran my hands through my hair.<p>

"I don't know what to do," I said, "We are getting in way over our heads."

"You're right," Aaralyn sighed, "But we can't just stand around and do nothing about this. Harry is our friend."

"I need to go for a walk," I said.

I left the common room and started to walk around the school again. I must have been near the Hufflepuff common room, because I could hear people cheering Cedric's name. I rolled my eyes and turned around to go the other way.

"Rosaline," someone said.

But I knew who it was. I turned back around to see Cedric.

"Cedric," I nodded, "Congratulations on winning."

"Thanks," he said, "What brings you here?"

"I go to this school, remember?" I smartly replied.

"I know that," Cedric scoffed, "What are you doing near the Hufflepuff common room?"

"Just going for a walk," I said, "What do you care?"

"I don't," he replied coldly.

I rolled my eyes and started to walk pass him. But he stopped me by grabbing my wrist.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked.

"We've already been over that," I said.

"I already said I was sorry for it," he said.

"But I haven't forgiven you yet," I said.

"Why won't you?" he asked frustrated, "What do I need to do? I have never had to work so hard just to get one measly little 'I forgive you!'"

"Oh boo-hoo," I said sarcastically, "Get over it. Maybe I'll never forgive you. Maybe I'll never want to talk to you ever again. So get over yourself and just leave-"

In the middle of my fury Cedric interrupted me. By kissing me straight on the lips. He held my tightly against him as he kissed me longer. I tried not to kiss back, but the longer he kept me there the hard it was to not kiss back. The smallest voice in the back of my head yelled for me to kiss back and forgive him. But the angry voice in my head dominated and made me pulled away. I looked at him frustrated, as he looked at me with shock. I didn't know it was shock of my reaction or shock of what he just did.

"Just...leave...me...alone," I finished my sentence.

I then walked away. Luckily he didn't follow me this time. I couldn't help but think about the feeling of his lips against mine. I could still remember the touch, and how it left this tingle on my lips. How the hell was I supposed to deal with all of this?

Aaralyn's POV

I was walking to my next class when I saw poor Neville Longbottom being tormented by a couple of Slytherins. They grabbed his books and threw them onto the ground. As Neville tried to pick them up, one of the boys kicked him down to the ground as well.

"Pathetic little Gryffindor," he sneered.

_I know that nauseating voice anywhere. Draco Malfoy._

Malfoy laughed as Neville started to whimper. His 'minions' laughed along with him.

"That does it," I muttered.

I walked up to them and glared furiously.

"Leave Neville alone Malfoy," I said.

"Oh if it isn't Aaralyn White," Malfoy said, "The freak of Ravenclaw."

"Don't turn things on me ferret face," I snapped, "Now leave Neville alone. What did he ever do to you?"

"He got in my way," he said.

"Right," I sarcastically stated as I rolled my eyes.

"What do you care White?" Malfoy snapped, "Do you fancy Longbottom?"

"I'd fancy anyone who isn't you," I said.

Malfoy's friends chuckled, making him cast them death glares. They both immediately shut their mouths and Malfoy turned back to me. He then walked up to me until I could smell his foul breath.

"I'll never forgive for what you did to me," he growled.

"I wasn't looking for an apology," I said.

He glared even harder. I tried to walk away but Malfoy stepped in front of me.

"Move out of the way," I said.

"Make me," he dared.

I glared and then shrugged.

"Okay," I said.

I then connected his nose with my fist strongly, making him fall back at least two feet. Blood started gushing from his nose. I smirked and then walked over to Neville. I helped him gather his books and then handed them to him.

"Thanks Aaralyn," he said.

"No problem," I smiled.

"This isn't over White," Malfoy spat.

"Then be prepared," I threatened, "Because next time I'll break more than you're nose. I'll even remove a few of your limbs if I have to."

I then walked off to my next class before I was late.

Rosaline and I were in the courtyard, underneath one of the trees. It was still cold out, but it wasn't a harsh, bitter cold. We were talking about the usual stuff; classes, friends, annoying teachers, antics pulled off by yours truly. Suddenly Rosaline looked up in front of us and smirked towards me. I turned and started to smile. It was George.

"I'll leave you two alone," Rosaline giggled.

She got up from her spot next to me which was quickly replaced by George.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," I said.

"So I heard that you broke Malfoy's nose," he smirked.

I smiled brightly and nodded.

"It's about bloody time someone did," George laughed, "I'm just sad it wasn't me."

"Don't worry," I said, "You'll get your chance."

"You're too funny," George smirked.

"And you're too cute," I said.

"I'm sorry but the answer I was looking for was charming or extremely handsome," he said.

"Don't push your luck," I said.

"Right," he chuckled as he pulled me in for a kiss.

I gladly kissed back. As I started to slide my arms around his neck I heard someone gagging. We both looked up to see Harry and Ron; Harry was smirking while Ron just looked appalled.

"That's just foul," Ron said.

"What's wrong?" George asked, "It's just snogging."

"But with one of my friends?" Ron asked.

George shrugged which made me laugh. Ron rolled his eyes and started to walk away.

"See you guys later," Harry chuckled as he started to follow Ron.

I waved goodbye and then turned back to George. By the look in his eyes I could tell he wanted to kiss me again. I smirked and decided to tease him a little. I came close enough to make it look like I was going to kiss him but I then moved my lips to kiss his cheek.

"I have to go," I said.

I picked up all of my books and started to leave, but George pulled me back to him and kissed me passionately on the lips.

"You can't tease me Aaralyn," he said, "It's just cruel."

"But the look on your face is hilarious," I giggled.

He playfully glared as I continued to laugh. He then ceased my laughing by kissing me one more time.

We were in our Defense of the Dark Arts class. Today Professor Moody was having us practice dueling. He had us pair up with someone to do some prep for the big duel that we would have. We only had a few minutes of preparing before he made a giant aisle in the middle of the room.

"Who would like to go first?" he asked.

Everyone was silent. No one actually wanted to fight anyone. Suddenly someone stepped out into the clearing of the room; Malfoy. He had the biggest smirk on his face. He was up to something.

"If you don't mind Professor," he said, "I would like to pick my rival."

"Go ahead," Moody said.

His smirk turned even bigger. What was he going to do?

"Aaralyn White," he said.

My eyes widened. Rosaline looked at me as if I was going to die. I probably was since I broke Malfoy's nose. I didn't want to do this at all. I couldn't fight him with magic; considering the fact that I wasn't a witch. But I didn't have a choice. I stepped out into the aisle, wand in hand. I put on my best poker face and met Malfoy midway. We stood there silently for a moment.

"Told you this wasn't over," he sneered.

I just glared at him in response. We bowed and then turned to each end of the aisle. I stood there, nervously breathing in.

"3, 2," Professor Moody counted down, "1. Now."

"_Stupefy!_" Malfoy cursed.

I flew back, hitting the wall. I heard a few people gasp, and Rosaline looked like she was going to pounce on Malfoy. But luckily Ron held her back. I got up and brushed off the pain.

"Again," Moody said. "3, 2, 1. Go."

"_Expelliarmus!" _Malfoy said, making my wand fall out of my hand.

"_Rictusempra!_" he then shouted.

It then felt like everything was in slow motion. I could see the spell zooming towards me. I was frozen for a second. But then my instincts kicked in and did something unexpected. I held my hands up, creating a force field around me. The spell bounced off of me and charged towards Malfoy. It hit him, causing him to do several horizontal flips in the air. My eyes widened in shock when I realized what I just did. I just used my powers...in _public_. I looked down at my hands and then around me. Everyone was staring at me in amazement, shock and confusion. I quickly grabbed my bag and then ran out of the class room.

"What have I done?" I whispered to myself.

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><p><strong>AN: CLIFFHANGER! Ha! Didn't see that did you? Don't forget to review!**


	13. Secret Keeper

**A/N: So yesterday I left you guys off with a cliffhanger. So what do you think is going to happen? What will happen to Aaralyn and Rosaline? We might never know...JUST KIDDING! You're going to find out in the this chapter! So thank you muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing on the last chapter. And enjoy this one. Don't forget to review!**

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><p>Once I made it to the common room, I collapsed onto the couch. I could feel my heart race insanely and I was breathing unevenly. Soon Rosaline came rushing in after me. She panted and leaned against the wall. As soon as she caught her breath she turned to me.<p>

"What the _hell _was that?" she asked, infuriated.

"I don't know," I said, "My wand was on the ground, Malfoy was going to curse me and I panicked. It was just my natural reflexes."

"Well your 'natural reflexes' are going to get us killed," Rosaline snapped, "We could get kicked out of the school. Or worse, Division could come _here_."

"I'm sorry," I said, "I didn't know what I was doing!"

"Obviously," Rosaline scoffed.

"Would you give me some slack," I begged, "I've never been in this situation before."

Rosaline sighed and then started to pace around the room. Back and forth, back and forth she went. Finally she stopped and turned back to me.

"Fine," she said, "But next this happens and we're out of here the next day."

I nodded to show that I understood. I felt a little relieved, but then it went away again. Because the common room door came bursting open and in came Hermione, Harry and Ron.

"We need to talk to you," Hermione said.

"What the bloody hell was that back there?" Ron asked.

"How did you guys get in here?" I asked shocked.

"We got a Ravenclaw to let us in," Harry said, "Now you need to give us an explanation. How did you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked pretending to be confused.

"Oh you bloody know what," Ron said, "That thing you did in class. You blocked off Malfoy's spell..._with your bare hands_."

"No witch or wizard has ever been able to do that," Hermione said, "There are no special powers in the wizardry world that gives a wizard that."  
>"Of course," Rosaline muttered.<p>

God Hermione just _had _to be a know-it-all at a time like this.

"How did you do it?" Harry repeated.

I looked at Rosaline worried. She looked the same way towards me.

"Should we tell them?" I asked.

"I don't know," Rosaline said, "It's your problem, your choice."

"What do you mean _my problem_?" I asked.

"You're the one that got us into this mess," Rosaline said.

"It's not my fault I was born with it," I said.

"Born with what?" Hermione asked, interrupting our argument.

"Just tell them," Rosaline said.

I sighed and stood up.

"I don't know where to start," I said.

"How about the beginning?" Ron asked smartly.

"Don't be a smart-ass with me," I said, "Do you want to hear this or not?"

No one replied, probably meaning they wanted to listen.

"Alright," I started, "Wizards and witches aren't the only supernatural people in this world. There are others. But they live in what you guys call the muggle world. They might look like your average, every day 'muggle,' but their not. Their special; _really _special. They're born with powers that seem impossible. They come with all sorts of them; people who can see the future, people who can move objects with their minds, people who can scream so loud that it will literally make your head pop off. The list keeps going."

"So what are they to guys?" Harry asked.

"We _are _them," Rosaline said, "I'm what they call a Shadow. I can erase memory and block off tracks to anyone that's a Sniff. Sniffs can smell any object that you've touched or owned and know where you were at that very moment."

"We came here to hide from a group in the government called 'Division,'" I said, "They're looking for me. I'm what they call a Keeper. I'm pretty special to them because I'm the only one of my kind. They want to bring back psychic warfare and make me their ultimate weapon. They're just going to use me until I'm useless; dead. I can't let that happen."

Ron, Hermione and Harry looked at us with blank expressions. Harry's face was a little more curious. Hermione seemed to be questioning our story in her mind. Ron just looked...odd.

"What a load of waffle," Ron said.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"I don't believe you," he said, being more specific.

I rolled my eyes at his annoyance. Of course he didn't believe us.

"How am I supposed to believe that you guys can do these-"

"Supernatural, idiotic things that supposedly don't exist," I said finishing his sentence.

He looked at me shocked.

"I knew you were going to say that," I said.

"W-well," Ron stuttered, "That still doesn't prove anything."

I sighed in frustration. I lifted my hand and flicked it up. Immediately Ron went flying into the air. Hermione gasped and Harry's eyes went wide as saucers. Ron was shrieking like a girl.

"What's happening?" he screamed.

"Do you believe me now?" I asked, "Because I can leave you up there all day if I want."

"Alright, alright," he said, "I believe you!"

I smirked and lowered my hand, gently putting Ron on the ground. He got up quickly and looked at me as if I was an alien.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked.

"I already told you," I said.

"So it's all real?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," I sighed, "But now that you guys know I'll have to leave Hogwarts. As soon as we leave this world, Division will catch us, probably kill Rosaline and use me to start another war."

I sat back down on the couch, looking down at my feet. I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. I felt someone sit next to me and place a hand on my shoulder. I looked up see Hermione with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"We can keep your secret," she said.

"You guys can't tell _anyone_," I said, "The only other person here that knows about it this Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?" Ron asked.

"Of course he knows you dumb-ass," Rosaline said with the strongest sarcastic tone ever heard, "How do you think we got into the school? Teleportation?"

"Shut up," Ron muttered.

"I don't understand why they want you though," Harry said, "What's a Keeper? And why are they so special?"

"Because a Keeper has all of the powers combined," I said, "It's as if I'm the 'keeper' of the powers. And since I'm the only one of my kind, they might as well use me now while I'm still young."

"That's terrible," Hermione said.

"Well life isn't supposed to be rainbows, sunshine and unicorns frolicking in a field of daisies," Rosaline said.

"Yeah," I agreed, "In the real world the rainbows are on fire, it's always cloudy and the unicorns in a field of daises are just donkeys in field of dead grass."

"That's just depressing," Ron said.

"It's reality," I corrected.

Rosaline sighed and then got up.

"Well," she said, "I have to go erase the memory of a bunch of 4th years."

"Have fun," I said as she left the common room.

Later that day I was called into Dumbledore's office. Great, now I was in trouble. He'll probably kick me out for exposing myself to their world. Now I'll definitely get sent home. I followed Professor McGonnagall to a statue of an eagle...or something close to an eagle.

"Pumpkin Pasties," she said as she waved her hands in the air.

Suddenly the statue moved in a circle, revealing an office. It must have been Dumbledore's. I didn't see him in there, so I wondered around the room curiously. Hundreds of paintings hung from the walls. On one of the shelves there was a manky old hat with a tipped point. It looked like a typical witch's hat that you would see in a cartoon or the Wizard of Oz. Suddenly the wrinkles in the hat formed a face, and it looked at me.

"I don't remember putting you in Ravenclaw," it said.

I gasped and jumped back a little.

"You t-talk?" I asked.

"Of course I talk," the hat scoffed, "You definitely don't go here."

"That obvious, huh?" I asked.

"Couldn't be any _more _obvious," it said.

"Well to be honest, I don't go here," I said.

"I'm not surprised," it said in a snobbish tone, "You might smart, always studying, but you don't have the look of a witch. You're just another pathetic muggle."

"Shut up," I scowled, "Before I rip you into hundred pieces without using my hands. Trust me, I can do that."

The hat just smirked and then morphed back into a regular hat. I gladly walked away from it and continued to look around the room. I then saw the most beautiful bird I had ever seen before. It was bright red, and the tips of feathers were the color of flames. It looked at me and quietly squawked. I carefully walked closer to it but then it suddenly burst into flames. I jumped back three feet and gasped in surprise. That poor just exploded. Dumbledore was going to kill me!

"Miss White," I heard an older voice say.

I turned around startled, and saw Dumbledore standing behind me.

"P-professor Dumbledore," I stuttered, "You're bird; it just...blew up."

"Oh," he sighed, "About time. Poor Fawkes was looking a little peaky."

I stared at him wide-eyed. He wasn't sad? Was he heartless towards animals or something?

"Fawkes is a phoenix," Dumbledore explained, "Once a phoenix dies, it bursts into flames. But then it rebirths by the ashes left behind."

Suddenly something moved in the ashes. A small baby bird peaked its head out and squealed. It was so adorable, I couldn't help but smile.

"But I believe you didn't come to talk about phoenixes," Dumbledore continued, "I've heard you used your powers in class."

"It wasn't my fault," I said, "Well I was the one using the powers but it was a natural instinct. I saw Malfoy about to attack me and I panicked. I was trained to act like that, sir. And I'm really sorry. Trust me it won't happen again."

"I'm glad to hear that," Dumbledore said, "But people were there at the time it occurred. And we can't have Rosaline erasing their memory by herself now, can we?"

I smirked and nodded.

"I will have some of the students come see me," Dumbledore smiled, "You may go now."

"Thank you, sir," I smiled back.

I then turned to leave.

"Oh and Aaralyn," Dumbledore called to me.

I turned back around to listen.

"Remember that whenever you're in doubt," Dumbledore said, "The best place to turn to is where you feel at home."

He winked and then let me go. I didn't know what he meant by that, but whatever. I'll probably figure it out later.

Rosaline's POV

I woke up from a pleasant night's sleep. I stretched and tossed my feet over the side of my bed. I slipped on a pair of jeans and long-sleeved slim fit black shirt. I heard a tapping on my window. I came close enough to see that it was an owl, with an envelope clutched in its beak. I opened the window, letting in the morning spring air in with the owl. I took the letter and then the owl flew away. It was a letter for me and Aaralyn. I opened it and then started to read.

_Dear Aaralyn and Rosaline,_

_ What the hell were you guys thinking? You told someone about your powers? Have you gone insane? Are you stupid? I don't understand why you did such a ridiculous thing. And Aaralyn, you revealed your powers in class? That's even more ridiculous; exposing your powers to people you don't know. Anyone in there could have told someone else. And then it would be spread around the entire school! Rosaline, I know that erased a couple of memories and I know that Dumbledore took care of the rest, but still. You have to be more careful. And I told you guys to stay __undercover__! Telling some "friends" about who you guys really are is not staying undercover! The more people you tell, the more risky this will become. Not only am I seeing our death, but I'm also seeing the death of people I don't even know. That's just cruel. You guys better do something quick, because I'm getting sick of drawing dead bodies every day!_

_-Cassie_

I glared at the letter and then crumpled it up furiously. God dammit Cassie you piss me off sometimes! I threw the crumpled letter into the fire and growled deeply. I rubbed my forehead with the palms of my hands. Things were just getting out of hand.

I left the common room, deciding to go for a walk. The only thing that would make things worse at the moment would be running into Cedric. I definitely did not want to see him. That asshole was confusing me. First he flirts with me, then he breaks my heart, he claims that Cho's his girlfriend and then he freakin' kisses me. Did he suddenly not care about Cho? Or did they break up? Or did he just want to mess with my head even more?

Suddenly I bumped into someone without looking.

"Oh God I'm sor-" I stopped midway when I saw who I ran into.

_Speak of the devil and he will appear._

It was Cedric. He looked at me, eyes wide. I guess he didn't want to see me either.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey," I said awkwardly.

We just stood there silently, not knowing what to say. I looked down at the tip of my converse. I didn't want to look him in the eyes.

"Listen," he said, finally breaking the silence, "I'm sorry for what I did. I don't know why I did it honestly. At the moment I thought it was the right thing to do. But obviously I was wrong."

I awkwardly ran my hand through my hair. The real problem was that I didn't know if it was wrong of him to do.

"I wouldn't say it was wrong," I said, "I just thought it sudden and shocking. I wasn't expect you kiss me when you got Cho to make out with."

"Well not anymore," he said, "She dumped me. She said I wasn't paying attention to her."

"Were you?" I asked.

"No," he admitted, "I was too busy trying to be at least your friend again. I didn't want to loose you."

"I don't see how I could be some important to you," I said uninterested.

"You are important," Cedric said, "You're everything to me."

I was completely confused. Cedric came closer to me and brushed my hair away from my face. He kept his hand on my cheek and looked deep into my eyes.

"I'm crazy for you Rosaline," he said, "Since the first day I noticed your electric blue hair and your angelic voice. I thought that I could never fall for someone. I thought that I was just going to be the player I always was. As ridiculous as that sounds it's true. When I realized I liked you, I couldn't let that happen to myself. But I was such an idiot for doing that to you; when I saw how hurt you were I was hurt myself. Then Aaralyn busted my lip, and then you told me off. That's when I realized I needed to get over myself and just get you back already."

I didn't know how to react. What was I supposed to say to this? Cedric then slipped away from me.

"It was nice talking to you Rosaline," he said.

Then he walked away, leaving me confused and conflicted. What was I supposed to feel? What was I supposed to do? I didn't even know if I liked him back. I was too busy hating him to even think about how I truly felt. I think that maybe...I did like him.


	14. Here's to the BrokenHearted

**A/N: First I'd like to thank my loyal reviewers, im-the-doctor and muentiger, for reviewing the last chapter. You guys get virtual hugs! So this chapter is going to be short since it's a filler. But it's pretty sad. And there's a POV for Cedric. Madness you say? Well shut up! Or I'll stab you in the jugular with a freshly sliced orange peel (Yes Ana, I used the line _again_). Enjoy and review!**

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><p>Rosaline has been acting really weird lately. She barely talked and just stared off into the distance. Whenever we talked she wouldn't listen. And here's the weirdest part out of all of it; whenever Cedric passed by she would totally space out. I tried shrugging it off but it kept coming back to me. It was probably nothing anything.<p>

The problem that I needed to worry about was Harry. I needed to find a way to save him from facing Voldemort. I knew that he was going to come back, and he was coming back stronger. Whenever I thought about him returning, this feeling of death would surround me. It definitely wasn't a good feeling.

"I need to talk to you," I told her.

She looked at the expression on my face with a curious look.

"Okay," she said slowly, "What about?"  
>"Harry," I said.<p>

"What's wrong?" she asked suddenly becoming worried.

"Not here," I whispered, "We need to go somewhere else."

Hermione nodded and followed me to the Black Lake.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Someone at the school is trying to hurt Harry," I said, "I know it doesn't sound that bad but it is. Because whoever wants to is going to bring him to Voldemort."

Hermione shivered, and not from the cold. I rolled my eyes at her fear of his name.

"Oh for Pete's sake," I complained, "It's a name. Saying his name won't kill me. And besides, his name is _definitely _not scary. How the hell am I supposed to terrified by the name, Voldemort? It sounds like something that would go with the name Egbert. Now that is just disgu-"

"Calm down Aaralyn," Hermione stopped my ranting, "Just continue what you were saying about...You-Know-Who."

"Right," I said, "He's going to try to come back."

"He's tried several times to return," she said, "And each time it ended in failure. What's so different about this time?"

"He's actually going to come back this time, Hermione," I said, "I've seen it...several times."

Hermione gasped. She didn't say anything for a while.

"You said that the future changes all the time," she said, "Maybe it won't happen."

"Maybe it won't," I agreed, "But we have to make sure it doesn't happen. So I need you to help me keep an eye on Harry. It's supposed to happen sometime during the third task."

Hermione thought for a moment and then suddenly her eyes lit up; she had an idea.

"I know a charm you could use," she said.

"Do tell," I begged.

"I could put a charm on two items, such as a necklace and a watch," she explained, "If you wear one of them and Harry wore the other one, then you would be able to know where he was. You would actually be there, but not actually there. It's sort of like watching a muggle movie or play."

"What if he needs my help?" I asked.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to help him," she sighed, "But you'd be able to send for help."

"Well it's good enough," I said. "Hopefully he'll be okay."

The third task was right around the corner. Hermione was already working on the charm. I was getting more nervous ever day we came closer to the task. What if Voldemort does come back? What if the charm doesn't work? What if Harry doesn't make it?

I sat by the Black Lake, writing in my journal. I was half way through my entry when I suddenly saw darkness. At first I was shocked, but then I realized it was a pair of hands covering my eyes.

"Guess who," a familiar voice whispered in my ear.

"Hi George," I laughed.

George pulled his hands away and kissed me hello. He sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"What are you writing?" he asked as he glanced at my journal.

Luckily I closed it before he could read anything.

"It's just a journal," I said, as if it was nothing.

It actually had all of my secrets and personal thoughts. I didn't want anyone reading it; even the people who did know my secrets.

"So the third task is coming up," I said.

"Oh yeah," George said, remembering it was near by, "Fred and I will have to get ready for the bets."

"You and your bets," I playfully rolled my eyes, "You humor me."

George just smirked at me.

"So who do you think will win?" he asked.

"Definitely not Fleur," I said, "All of them but Fleur have a chance of winning. What about you?"

"I'm rooting for Harry all the way," George smiled proudly.

"You really think he's going to win," I said.

"Definitely," he said, "Harry was practically born a hero. What can he not do?"

"You got me there," I shrugged.

George laughed in agreement.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Sure," he said.

"Has anyone actually died in the tournament?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," George said, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just worried," I said, "Harry's really young and Dumbledore said that the tasks were deadly."

"Come on," he said, "Harry can take care of himself. He's faced far worse things than a dragon and couple of mermaids."

"You're right," I sighed, "It's nothing."

George smiled and kissed my cheek. If only he knew what could happen. I wish I could tell him everything about who I was and what I saw, but I couldn't. I'd be risking my life if I did.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I lied, "I'm fine."

George looked at me curiously, wondering if he should believe me or not. To make him believe me, I kissed him sweetly on the lips. He immediately kissed back. His arms tightened around me as the kiss deepened. I couldn't help but smile. I pulled away and smiled at him brightly.

"I like kissing you," George smirked.

"I like kissing you, too," I giggled.

He pulled me back into another kiss putting more passion into then he before. It felt like it lasted forever. Hundreds of butterflies danced through my body and shivers traveled up and down my spine. I finally pulled away to catch my breath. I looked deep into his eyes to see a beautiful sparkle. I smiled and softly kissed him again.

Cedric's POV

_I can't stop thinking about her. Everything about her is so unique and beautiful; her electric blue hair, her soft gray eyes, her beautiful smile, her angelic laugh...I could talk about her for days. I told her she was my everything but she just stood there with a blank face. Maybe she doesn't feel the same way. I did break her heart, but I've told hundreds of times that I was sorry. It drove me crazy; she wouldn't talk to me or even look my way. She hated my guts, she probably still does. I just want to here her say that she forgives me. Out of all of the things in the world, that would be my dying wish. Now I realize something, I don't like her. I love her. I'm in love with Rosaline Moriali._

I closed my journal and put it away. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn't keep living like this. I was going bloody mad because of her. How could I get her to forgive me? I kissed her, I confessed my love to her, but she still wouldn't forgive me. It was starting to frustrate me. Everyone kept saying "get over her" and "she's just a girl," but she's more than just a girl. She's the only girl that really changed me. She made me realize what was wrong with me. And she was the only girl that pushed me away when I hurt her. She didn't come crawling back like the others. She made my heart break when I broke hers.

"Cedric," I heard a familiar voice say.

I could feel my heart skipping beats as I turned around. There she was, standing before me.

"Rosaline," I said.

"I wanted to talk to you...about what you said," she said. She nervously fiddled with her fingers and tried not to keep eye contact.

"What about it?" I asked, trying not to care.

"Did you really mean it?" she asked. The smallest hint in her voice told me that she wanted me to say yes.

"Of course I did," I said.

"I just wanted to make sure," she said.

"I understand," I said, "You don't if you can trust me."

She nodded shyly and looked down at her feet.

"I get it," I said, "But from all of this I've learned something."

She looked up confused.

"If you care for someone," I said, "You let them go."

I picked my bag up from the ground and then faced her.

"So this is me letting you go," I said, "And again, I'm truly sorry."

I then walked away. Every step I moved further from her, the more my heart broke. The pain became deeper. Tears brimmed in my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away before they fell. I couldn't believe I was doing this.

Rosaline's POV

There he went. He just let me go and walked away. Why? I didn't want him to let me go. I wanted him to hold me until the end of the world and kiss me like he did before; except this time I would kiss back. But he just _let me go_. I was shocked and very heart broken. Tears started to surface, the further he walked away. I quickly brushed them away before letting them fall. I breathed deeply to ease the pain I felt. I brushed my hair back from my face and then sat down on the ground.

I was going to tell him how I really felt. I was going to tell that I _did _like him. But he just had to do the "right thing" and freakin' let me go. That stupid, idiotic, handsome, charming, caring son of a bitch.

"Why do I like you so much?" I whispered.

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><p><strong>AN: Awwwww! Isn't that sad? Here are some virtual tissues for those who are crying. If you're not crying then you can use the tissues to make a tissue flower or something. I don't know, be creative! Now go review!**


	15. The Third Task

**A/N: First of all, thank you muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing. You guys are probably gonna be the only reviewers I'll have. So anyways, the third task of the tournament is in this chapter. But I'm spreading it out so next chapter will be a part 2 to this one. Enjoy and review!**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

I still couldn't believe he let me go. The memory of him walking away was still fresh in my head, like it was yesterday. I remembered every detail from the look in his eyes when he first saw me to the way his voice sounded when he said goodbye. Every moment still brought a tear to my eye.

Today was the third and final task of the TriWizard Tournament. It was supposed to be the most dangerous task out of all of them. It was probably why it was put as the last task. But this task was when Voldemort was supposed to return. And Harry was going to get hurt. Luckily Hermione's charm was completed so Aaralyn would be watching over him. But what about Cedric?

The champions were getting ready in the tents. Since I knew where it was, I finally decided to do the boldest thing I've ever done; I was going to see Cedric. I peeked my head into the tent, and saw Cedric leaning against one of the poles that held up the tent. Before I called for him, I took a deep anxious breath.

"Cedric," I whispered.

Cedric looked up and around him, but saw nothing.

"Cedric," I repeated.

He then turned my way. His eyes went wide when he saw me.

"Rosaline?" he asked.

I stepped out of the tent and he followed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to see you," I said.

"Why?" he asked, obliviously.

I didn't know what to say. What was I supposed to say? How was I supposed to say it? I choked on my breath and thought nervously. Then I went with my gut; I pulled him closer towards me and kissed him on the lips. Cedric was completely shocked. He pulled away confused.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked.

"I like you too," I said, "I've been liking you since I first met you. But then you hurt me and all of that turned into hate. You apologized hundreds of times and then told me you liked me, but I didn't know how to react. I was too busy hating you that I forgot that I once liked you. I realized that deep down under all of that hate, I still liked you. I like you a lot Cedric. I just wanted to let you know...since you decided to let me go."

I turned to leave but then Cedric grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. He kissed me, and I gladly kissed back. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as he held me closer to him. I could feel myself exploding on the inside. I started getting dizzy and could feel my knees start to weaken. I pulled away so I could breathe again. I looked deep into Cedric's glorious eyes and smiled. He smiled back and gently kissed my cheek.

"I have to go," he said, "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," I said.

He then let me go and walked back in to the tent. I couldn't stop smiling as I walked away. I could still feel his lips on my mine, and his arms still holding me. I finally made it to the benches where the third task was. I sat down next to Aaralyn, who was sitting with George; I honestly wasn't surprised.

In front of us was an enormous maze. The TriWizard cup was somewhere within the maze. It looked so dark and mysterious and almost death-like. It probably had a monster somewhere lurking about it, like the labyrinth in the Greek myth.

"Silence!" Dumbledore said, "Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the cup deep within the maze! Only he knows its exact position. Now since Mr. Diggory-"

He was interrupted by a loud roar from the crowd, which I gladly joined by cheering as loud as I could.

"-and -" Dumbledore continued.

The same thing happened but with the people rooting for Harry. He nervously stood there on the field with the other champions, looking a little startled by the eruption of cheers.

"-are tied for first position," Dumbledore said, "They will be the first to enter the maze. Followed by Mr. Krum and Miss Delacour."

The rest of the crowd cheered for Fleur and Viktor.

"The first person to touch the cup will be the winner! There will be aurors patrolling the at any point a contestant wishes to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands. Champions! Gather round."

The champions huddled near Dumbledore and he whispered something to them. They soon parted and each champion stood by an opening in the maze.

"At the count of three!" Dumbledore said, "One-"

_BOOM!_ Filch already shot the cannon to start the task. Dumbledore looked at him, highly annoyed, but he ignored it and let Harry and Cedric into the maze. The entrances closed behind them both.

"Can't that idiot count?" Aaralyn asked, obviously talking about Filch.

"I'm guessing not," I giggled.

Soon Fleur and Viktor went into the maze. Then all we had to do was wait.

"I guess I should go now," Aaralyn said.

I nodded in agreement. She stood up and left the crowd to go behind the benches.

_Good luck. I pray to God Harry doesn't get hurt._

Aaralyn's POV

Once I was out of sight, I put on the emerald necklace I made. Hermione used it to for my part of the charm. I clasped onto the emerald with my thumb and forefinger and shut my eyes tightly. Suddenly I felt as if I was weightless and then it grewer darker, and colder. I slowly opened my eyes, and saw that I was in the maze. It was a little foggy but I could see ahead of me. I heard a snap and saw Harry on my right.

"Harry," I called to him, but he didn't listen.

"Harry," I repeated.

I swatted my hand onto his shoulder, but it went right through him; literally. He couldn't see me, hear me or feel me. All I could do was watch over him, nothing more.

Harry looked around and decided to go to the right. He quickly ran, probably because he was nervous and a little scared. I didn't blame him, the maze was _quite _disturbing. You couldn't see that far ahead of you and it was dead quiet. It was almost like in a scary movie when you know the monster is there, but there's no scary background music; which makes it even more terrifying.

Harry made another right, a left and then kept going straight forward. I knew he was just taking random turns but it was better than just standing in one place and waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly a shrieking, high pitch scream echoed throughout the maze. Harry turned around towards the scream and then followed.

"No Harry," I begged, "Don't be hero."

Of course he couldn't listen to me so he followed it anyway. He finally found the source of the scream when he saw Fleur on the ground. She was started to get pulled away by the vines within the maze's walls. Harry tried to pull her out, but something stopped him. He jumped back up to see Viktor pointing his wand towards Harry. He had the strangest, freakiest look on his face. He sneered at Harry and kept his wand on him.

"Do something Harry," I said.

Viktor sneered a little more and then turned away.

_What the hell?_

Harry then went back down and pulled Fleur away from the vine-filled trap.

"_Periculum!_" Harry said, pointing his wand to the sky.

Red sparks flew up into the sky and then Harry quickly ran away. A strong wind came through and made the whole maze shake. I followed Harry away from the now forming tornado in the middle of the maze. Finally it blew over and everything was calm again.

Suddenly Viktor came charging at Harry. Harry fell to the ground but quickly got back up. Cedric then came in and attacked Viktor. What was this? A dog-pile? Harry pulled Cedric away before he could curse the hell out of Viktor.

"Stop, Cedric!" Harry said, struggling against Cedric's strength, "He's bewitched, Cedric! Stop!"

_Ooh, that makes sense. But who the hell bewitched him?_

Cedric pulled away from Harry and they started to get into a small fight. But it suddenly stopped when they saw what was in front of them; the TriWizard cup. They started to run towards the cup, at a very fast pace. On the way a set of vines came out and pulled Cedric down. Harry kept running towards the cup, but then stopped.

"Help!" Cedric called, "Harry help me!"

"You see, _now _is a good time to be a hero," I said.

Harry charged back towards Cedric and pulled the vines away. He helped Cedric up, who was now panting from the anxiety.

"Thanks," he said.

Harry nodded to say 'you're welcome.'

"You know for a moment," Cedric said, "I thought you were going to let it get me."

"For a moment so did I," Harry said.

Suddenly another gust of wind came bursting in, breaking the silent moment. Cedric and Harry started running towards the cup but then stopped when they were right in front of it.

"Take it," Cedric said.

"No you take it," Harry said.

"You saved my life," Cedric said, "Now take it."

"Together," Harry said, "One, two, three!"

They both grabbed it at the same time, causing them to disappear from the storm. The image of the maze went dark before my eyes. Instead I was in a graveyard; a dark, death-reeking graveyard. Old, brittle graves stuck out from the ground, marking the spots of the dead people. In the middle of it, there was a tall statue of a hooded, grim reaper man. It was very unusual for a graveyard which made it really weird.

Cedric looked at the cup and chuckled in amazement.

"It's a port-key," he said, "Harry, the cup is a port-key."  
>But Harry didn't listen. He was too busy looking at the graveyard. He looked around as if one of his nightmares turned into reality.<p>

"I know this place," he whispered.

He looked at the statue in the middle of the graveyard. Next to it was a tall squared piece of cement which had names engraved onto them. Each of them were from the same family, probably passed down from grandfather to father to son. Harry looked at one of the names and panicked. _Tom Marvolo Riddle_, it read. Who was that?

"Cedric we need to get out of here," Harry said.

Cedric didn't listen to him though. He was looking towards the small house that was near by the graveyard. The door had opened, pouring in a bright light to the dark area.

"Get back to the cup," Harry said.

He then turned to where Cedric was looking. A man stepped out of the house. He had a rat-like face, was short, stubby and very ugly. He was holding a black bundle in his arms. Suddenly Harry yelled in pain, collapsing down to the ground and holding his forehead.

"Harry what's wrong?" Cedric asked.

"Get back to the cup!" Harry repeated, "Now!"

He kept shouting in agony and holding onto his forehead. I had seen him do that before, but that was when he saw the picture I drew of...Voldemort? That rat-face guy was Voldemort? It couldn't be. The man came closer, revealing the bundle he was holding was a small person, or man I should say. He reminded me of E.T.; small, thin, ugly. But he was paler and had no nose. He looked vaguely familiar to me. But then I realized, that _was _Voldemort.

"Cedric get back to the cup!" I shouted.

What the hell was I doing? He couldn't hear me. No one could.

Suddenly the image in front of me started to blur.

_What's going on?_

The image became clear again but then went back to a blur. Then it went completely black and everything was gone. My eyes shot back open, and I was back behind the benches.

"What the hell?" I muttered.

I looked down at my necklace, but it seemed fine to me. Why did it just disappear like that? Why was I standing here? Harry was in trouble!


	16. The Third Task Part 2

**A/N: Alright here's PART 2 to the third task! Are you ready for this? Are you sure? Are you're sure you're sure? Are you really sure? Because some of you might not be. Just kidding, I know you guys are. Thanks im-the-doctor and muentiger for reviewing! And for all of you people who are curious to know how far this story will go, I'm going to continue this story into the 5th year. So yay for that!**

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><p>I quickly ran back to benches, searching for a teacher. I needed to tell someone before Harry was going to get killed. I found Professor McGonnagall standing by a few of the other professors.<p>

"Professor McGonnagall," I said, "Someone needs to bring back Cedric and Harry."

"What for Miss White?" she asked.

"Uh.." I paused.

What was I supposed to say.

_Oh well you see, I stalked Harry in the tournament and I saw him and Cedric teleport to a graveyard where Voldemort was. And why was I stalking Harry you ask? Well I can see into the future and I saw Voldemort and Harry fighting. And the reason I can see into the future is because I'm not a wizard AT ALL!_

Yeah right, like I was tell anyone that. I groaned in frustration and ran off to another teacher. I noticed Snape standing by the end of the benches. As much as I hated doing this, I ran over to him.

"Professor Snape," I said, "Harry and Cedric are in trouble."

"That's not possible," he said plainly, "The maze is surrounded by aurors, so there is no probable way that they could be in danger."

"But they _are _in danger," I retorted.

"And just how do you know that?" Snape asked smartly.

Crap, there's that question again. I rolled my eyes and ran off. I then saw Professor Moody hobbling along. I quickly ran in front of him to stop him.

"Professor Moody," I said, "Harry and Cedric are in danger."  
>Moody looked at me with a shocked yet curious face. He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms in front of him.<p>

"Oh really?" he asked curiously, "And just _how _do you know that?"

"I just know!" I snapped, "Now someone needs to get Harry and Cedric out of the gra...I mean maze or something bad will happen!"

"That's no way to talk to a teacher, Miss White," Professor Moody said, "Now run off and stop making a worry over such _nonsense_."

His tongue flicked, which was really weird. It must have been a twitch or something, but either way it bothered me. He then walked by me, shoving me a little as he passed me. I shrugged off his oddness and ran off again. I pulled out my charm again, angrily pressing it.

"Why won't this thing work?" I hissed.

I shut my eyes, but all I saw was blackness. Suddenly something red flashed before my eyes; but my eyes were still closed. The charm started working again, only giving me small flickers of things. They were still at the graveyard, and now Voldemort was in a full form. Harry was hiding behind a giant rock, panting anxiously.

"Don't you turn your back on me Harry Potter!" Voldemort's vicious voice beckoned, "I want you to look at me when I kill you! I want to see the light leave your eyes!"

Harry looked so scared, he didn't want to face him. Then the image went away again. I saw only blackness for a moment and then the image returned.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry said.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" Voldemort said at the exact same time.

Red and green light flew from their wands; and the blackness returned. I opened my eyes, knowing that it was broken for good now. I ran off to find another teacher. No one was around to find. I finally found someone who would know what I was talking about, Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore," I panted, trying to catch my breath from all of the running.

"Yes Miss White?" he asked.

"You need to stop this tournament," I said.

"And why's that?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Because Harry-" I started.

Suddenly the crowd started cheering and the band started playing music again. Someone had come back with the cup. I turned around and saw Harry on the ground with the cup in one hand and Cedric underneath him. I sighed in relief, but then I noticed something odd. Harry was crying and Cedric wasn't moving. Dumbledore noticed this, too. Then Fleur screamed in horror, making things worse.

Someone got the music to stop playing and several of the professor ran onto the field to get Harry. I stepped closer to get a better look. Harry was definitely crying and Cedric didn't budge once. His eyes were opened, but they looked lifeless.

I gasped, covering my mouth in horror. Cedric was dead.

"Oh my God," I whispered.

Then I remembered another that was even worse, Rosaline's face when she saw this.

Rosaline's POV

The music started playing again and the crowd started cheering, meaning that someone came back with the cup. I saw Harry and Cedric on the ground. I sighed in relief, they didn't get hurt. I saw Aaralyn down at the field but her reaction was completely different to everyone else. She looked more scared then excited.

Fleur then screamed bloody murder, the music stopped and the crowd went silent. I then noticed that Harry was crying. I ran down from the benches towards the field. Once I got there I saw Cedric still on the ground. His body was stiff and wouldn't move. His eyes were wide opened and lifeless.

"Oh God no," I whispered.

I looked even closer; Cedric wasn't even breathing. He was dead. I screamed but muffled it with my hands. I collapsed onto my knees and exploded into tears. It was uncontrollable what I felt. I had just told him how I felt and he died. How was this even possible?

"Dumbledore," the Minister of Magic said, "What's happened?"

"He's back!" Harry sobbed, "He's back! Voldemort's back!"

I managed to gasp through my tears. I tried to stop, but it all kept coming back. Cedric was dead and he couldn't be with me anymore. He couldn't hold me in his arms, make me laugh or kiss me with his soft, warm lips. He was gone, forever and always.

"Cedric!" Harry said, "He asked me to bring his body back. I couldn't leave him! Not there!"

This made me cry even harder. I felt someone pull me back up to my feet and just hold me. I looked through my tears to see Hermione next to me. I hugged her tightly and cried into her shoulder. This all felt like a horrible nightmare. It would have been better if it was nightmare, because I would be able to wake up and know Cedric was still alive. But this was reality, and just thinking about waking up every day and live each day without Cedric made me cry even more. Hermione just held on and let my tears soak her shirt.

"Out of my way!" someone shouted, "Out of my way!"

A man pushed through the crowd and collapsed when he saw Cedric.

"That's my son!" he sobbed and shouted, "That's my boy! My boy!"

I cried even more out of sorrow for Cedric's father. He cried miserably and screamed in pain of loosing his son. We now shared something in common, we have lost something that meant the world to us.

Aaralyn's POV

I couldn't help but feel bad for Rosaline. He was the first guy she ever liked, and she lost him in the blink of an eye. I would be in forever misery if I lost George. I hung my head in sorrow for Cedric. But then I noticed Harry getting pulled away by Professor Moody.

"Where are they going?" I muttered.

I followed their path. I was far behind but I was close enough where they were turning. They walked all the way back to the school. I was almost right behind them, but then I lost them. I stood there, lost in a hallway. Where was I supposed to go? I couldn't use the charm since it was broken. I had to think hard.

"Where would they go?" I asked.

Then it came to me. Moody was a teacher, obviously his office.

_Wow I feel stupid._

I ran to the Defense of the Dark Arts classroom. I ran up the stairs at the end of the room and finally reached the office door. I then pressed my ear against the door and listened to what they were saying.

"What was it like?" Professor Moody asked, "What was he like?"

"Who?" Harry asked.

"The Dark Lord," Moody said, "What was it like to stand in his presence?"

"I don't know," Harry said, "It was like I'd fallen into one of my dreams. Into one of my nightmares."

"Were there others?" Moody asked, "In the graveyard, were there others?"

"...I don't think I said anything about a graveyard, Professor," Harry said curiously.

_If he didn't say anything then how did Moody know about the graveyard?...WAIT! Oh my God!_

"Marvelous creatures, Dragons, aren't they," Moody said mocking Hagrid, "Do you think that miserable oaf would've sent you into the woods if I hadn't suggested it? Do you think Cedric Diggory would've told you to open the egg underwater if I hadn't told him first myself? Do you think Neville Longbottom, the witless wonder, could've provided you with Gillyweed if I hadn't given him the book that led him straight to it?"

_Holy Mary Mother of God! He was the one behind all of it!_

"It was you from the beginning!" Harry said, "You put my name into the Goblet of Fire! You bewitched Krum!"

"You won because I made it so, Potter!" Moody hissed, "You ended up in that graveyard because it was meant to be so! But then _someone _just had to get a Tracking Charm on you, because you're friends just don't know how to stay out of other people's business."

_He's the one that broke my charm? That son of a bitch, how did he know about it? _

Suddenly the door opened, causing me to fall on my ass onto the hard tile. I looked up to see a furious Professor Moody and a confused Harry. Moody limped over to me, lifting me up aggressively and throwing me over to Harry. He shut the door and then faced us.

"But now the deed is done!" Moody said, "The blood that runs in your veins runs within the Dark Lord!"

He suddenly twitched viciously, as if his whole body was having a spasm. He turned to the corner, his back facing us, and gripped onto the wall for support. He then turned back to us with a hunger for kill flickering in his eyes. Suddenly the skin on his face started to droop, almost like he got really bad plastic surgery. He started coming closer and closer towards us.

"Imagine how he will reward me," he said, "When he learns that I have once and for all silenced the great Harry Potter!"

"I can't let you do that," I said as I stepped in front of Harry.

"Very well," Moody said, "Then I'll have to go through you as well."

He raised his wand and aimed it towards me.

"Aaralyn don't," Harry begged.

"_Avada K-_" Moody started. But before he could finish I raised my hands forward and cause a force field to push him back to the wall. He fell to the ground and tried to get back up. I stepped forward and kept one of my hands on him, forcing him to stay on the ground.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

Suddenly the door flew opened, revealing Dumbledore, Snape and a few other professors. Dumbledore had his wand ready and aimed but then he saw that I was here.

"Aaralyn, what are you doing here?" McGonnagall asked.

"Step away," Dumbledore ordered me.

I cautiously removed my hand from Moody and started to step away. Suddenly Moody lifted his wand and pointed it towards me.

"_Crucio!_" he said.

Pain exploded inside of me and I collapsed to the ground. I started to scream from the agonizing pain that crept through all of my body. It viciously hit all of my nerves and repeatedly sent pierces of torture through every morsle of my body.

"_Crucio!_" he repeated.

More pain grew and I felt myself growing weaker. I almost felt I was dying very, very slowly. Torturous stabs filled throughout me on the outside and inside. A tear escaped from my eye as the pain formed into a slow miserable death. I could feel darkness slowly blending into my vision. I thought I was going to die.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Dumbledore shouted.

Moody wand flew out of his hand and he flew back into a chair. The pain immediately went away, but I was still too weak to get up. Harry ran over to me and started to shout at me. But his voice felt like it was miles away.

Then it all went black.

I slowly woke up, seeing a whole different scenery around me. It was the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. At least I wasn't dead. I started to sit up, but my arms gave out on me causing me to collapse back down. A pair of strong arms suddenly grabbed me and gradually set me back down. I looked up and saw George's worried face hovering over me.

"Madame Pomfrey said you were still too weak to get up," he said, "You gave everyone quite a scare."

"I think I scared myself a bit, too," I said, weakly laughing.

George sat down on the chair by my bed. He brought his hand over and gently pushed my hair away from my face. He kept his hand on my cheek and lightly stroked the side of my face. It felt nice to feel his touch once again.

"You scared me the most," he said, "I thought I would loose you."

"It was a harmless torture curse," I said, "He only used it twice on me, I would have been fine anyway."

"Stop being brave Aaralyn," George said, "You would not have been fine. You could have died. And I wouldn't be able to keep living if you did."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't be sorry," he said, "It wasn't your fault. Just do me one favor."

"What?" I asked.

"Stop trying to be a hero all the time," he said.

I smiled and nodded, making George smile back. He kissed me, but lightly since I _was_ in a hospital bed at the moment. But that started to make me think about someone else, Rosaline.

"How's Rosaline holding up?" I asked.

"Not well," he sighed, "She's really depressed. She must have really cared about Cedric."

"Yeah," I said, "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"Me neither," I said.


	17. Your Guardian Angel

**A/N: Sorry I haven't written for the past few days. I forgot to mention that I was going to be at my dad's for the weekend. And I have mentioned before that he has no internet, so...yeah. Anyways, thanks im-the-doctor and muentiger for reviewing. I know you guys weren't happy with what I wrote but whatever, you knew it would happen. So this chapter is pretty emotional and there's a little bit of a shock at the end. Get ready to be surprised!**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

"Rosaline," I heard someone whisper.

I didn't want to wake up though. I peaceful just lying there on my bed. I wanted to keep my eyes closed forever, hoping to never open them again.

"Rosaline," the voice repeated, "Wake up."

The voice sounded way too familiar to me. I thought I knew who it was, but it would have been impossible if it was him.

"It's me, Rosaline," the voice whispered. I could feel the stranger's breath on my ear. The sound of the person's voice was familiar; same as the scent and the tone of the voice. My curiosity got to me and made me open my eyes. It was him; it was Cedric.

"Cedric?" my cracked from the forming sobs.

"Yes it's me, love," Cedric smiled. He was on his knees, beside my bed.

I could feel tears surfacing as he smiled. Suddenly his smile turned into a frown.

"Please, Rosaline," Cedric said, "Please don't cry."

"But you're dead," I said, "How could you be here in front of me? Am I dreaming?"

"Unfortunately you are," he sighed. He didn't like it as much as I did.

"It was the only way I could see you," he said as he brushed my hair away from my face.

I slowly got up from my bed. Cedric rose from his knees and held onto my hands.

"I never got to say goodbye," I whispered.

"I know," he said, "There still so much I wanted to say."

"Me too," I said, "And there was something I never got to tell you."

"What?" he asked.

"I never got to officially forgive you," I said, "So I forgive you, for everything you did. And I was glad to be with you, even it was for only a short moment."

Cedric pulled me towards him and hugged me tightly. He kissed my forehead and then brought his lips onto mine. He kissed me sweetly and gently, leaving a lingering pleasure on my lips.

"Just know that I'm never gone," he said as he pulled away, "I'm always there for you. I'll never let you fall."

Suddenly he was turning transparent.

"Cedric?" I asked.

He just smiled. I tried to hold onto him but my hand went right through him. He quickly faded away into nothing. He was no longer there.

I shot up from bed in a cold sweat and dried tears on my face. I sighed sadly and pushed my hair away from my face. I knew it was a dream, but it felt so real to me. I could feel his kiss still on my lips. I just wished I could wake up like that every morning, with Cedric right there by my side. But that would never happen.

"Rosaline," Aaralyn said. "Come on, Dumbledore is making an announcement."

I nodded, got dressed and then followed Aaralyn out the door. We walked into the Great Hall where Dumbledore's announcement was taking place. Aaralyn brought us over to where Hermione, Ron and Harry were sitting. I sat down next to her and waited for it to start. It was completely silent for what felt like hours.

"Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss," Dumbledore started, "Cedric Diggory was, as you all know, exceptionally hard working, infinitely fair-minded, and most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend."

I could already feel tears forming in my eyes.

_You have no idea what he's been to me._

"Therefore," Dumbledore said, "I feel you have the right to know exactly how he died. You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered, by Lord Voldemort!"

I finally let a few tears fall from my face. Aaralyn pulled me closer to her, letting me rest my head on her shoulder. I cried silently and hid my face behind my hair.

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this," Dumbledore continued, "But not to do so I feel would be an insult to his memory. Now the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, and, reminds us, that though we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. In light of the recent events, the bonds of friendship made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Cedric Diggory will not have died in vain. You remember that, and we'll celebrate a boy who was kind, and honest, and brave, and true. Right to the very end."

His words spoke the very truth of Cedric, which made me cry even more. I knew that people were sad that he was gone, but it brought the most pain to me.

I sat under the tree by the Black Lake. I just needed to be alone for a while. Everywhere I went people would stare at me. I was now known by everyone in the school. I was 'the girl who was with Cedric.' That's just fan-damn-tastic.

"Rosaline," someone said.

I turned around and saw Harry standing awkwardly behind me.

"Hi Harry," I sighed.

"Look, I'm not going to be long," Harry said, "So I'll just come out with it. Cedric wanted me to give you this."

I turned back to him shocked. Harry handed me a book, a journal to be more specific. I took it from him and then he walked away. I opened the journal, and saw that it belonged to Cedric. I flipped through all of the pages, and then finally got to the last page.

_ I can't stop thinking about her. Everything about her is so unique and beautiful; her electric blue hair, her soft gray eyes, her beautiful smile, her angelic laugh...I could talk about her for days. I told her she was my everything but she just stood there with a blank face. Maybe she doesn't feel the same way. I did break her heart, but I've told hundreds of times that I was sorry. It drove me crazy; she wouldn't talk to me or even look my way. She hated my guts, she probably still does. I just want to here her say that she forgives me. Out of all of the things in the world, that would be my dying wish. Now I realize something, I don't like her. I love her. I'm in love with Rosaline Moriali._

Suddenly a drop of water fell onto the page. At first I thought it was rain, but then I realized it was a tear; my tear. I was crying without even realizing it. He loved me. Cedric Diggory _loved _me. I was glad that he liked me, but I never thought I'd get to hear him say he loved me.

"I forgive you," I whispered, "And I love you, too."

I felt a heavy feeling taken off of my shoulders and a lightness in my heart. It was as if saying that just solved everything. A small, faint smile appeared on my face but quickly faded away. I got up with Cedric's journal in my hands and went back to the common room.

Aaralyn's POV

The school year was soon coming to an end. People were talking about summer plans and handing out addresses for people to write to and from. There was a vibe of anxiety for the school year to finally be over. It was like in any other school.

I was finished packing my bags when I heard a tapping on the window. An owl sat there with a letter dangling from its beak. I opened the window and took the letter, letting the owl fly away. The letter was from Nick.

_Dear Aaralyn and Rosaline,_

_ The end of the year is coming for you guys. I hope you guys enjoyed Hogwarts. Because you might not be able to come back. Division has had a change in venue. They moved their headquarters to London. And yes Rosaline, I mean London, England. We might have to leave the country. But this a 'might,' so if nothing major happens over the summer, than we'll be fine._

_ And possibly it might be best if you guys didn't live with us anymore. It's too dangerous. I'm really sorry, but we found someone to watch over you two. Cassie and I will still write. Just trust me on this one, guys._

_- Nick_

I growled a little as I finished the letter. I was looking forward to seeing Cassie and Nick again. But that stupid Division just had to move their headquarters. They just made me so _mad _sometimes. Even though I was fuming at the moment, I was a little curious about why they moved.

"What's wrong?" Rosaline asked, noticing the look on my face.

I handed her the letter. She read it very quickly and then crumpled it angrily.

"Son of a _bitch_," she hissed, "He's kicking us out?"  
>"It's for our own good," I sighed, in a slight mocking tone.<p>

"'Our own good' my ass," Rosaline rolled her eyes.

"But aren't you a little curious?" I asked, "I mean, why would Division move their headquarters to London? What other reasons do they have than us being here?"

Rosaline looked down at the ground in thought. She thought for a long while.

"I don't know honestly," she said, "Do you think our use of powers has brought them here? Do you think they're tracking us?"

"It's possible," I shrugged, "I think it's best if we don't use our powers unless it's an emergency. And it _has _to be an emergency."

Rosaline nodded in agreement. We then went down to the courtyard to say goodbye to the Durmstrang boys and the girls from Beauxbatons. Hundreds of students swarmed around the courtyard, saying their goodbyes to everyone. I noticed Viktor Krum handing a small note to Hermione, which made her blush. I smirked and then turned to see Fleur kiss Ron's cheek. He sighed in amazement, making me roll my eyes.

"This has been quite the year, hasn't it," Rosaline said.

"No shit," I said.

"Do you think we'll come back?" she asked.

"Hopefully," I sighed, "I like it here."

"Me too," Rosaline smiled.

We walked together towards the balcony, to watch the Durmstrangs and Beauxbatons leave. The sun was starting to set, leaving an orange reflection on the Black Lake. We were soon joined by Harry, Hermione and Ron. The Beauxbatons' carriage flew crazily through the sky, shrinking away in the distance. The Durmstrangs' giant ship slowly sunk underwater, only leaving a tiny bit above the surface, and then sailed away from Hogwarts.

"Promise you'll write to us this summer," Hermione said to us.

"Of course," Rosaline smiled.

"Definitely," I agreed.

"We are going to see you next year," Ron said, "Right?"

"Uh.." I paused, "Yeah. Why not?"

Ron shrugged and smirked.

"Come on," Harry said, "We better get going."

Rosaline and I went back to the Ravenclaw common room and grabbed our bags. We walked to the train and put them away. We shared a compartment with Harry, Hermione and Ron on the way back.

"So what happens now?" I asked, "Now that Voldemort's back?"

"I don't know," Harry sighed, "I don't think anyone knows."

I nodded, not knowing what to say. What was I supposed to say? It just got awkward from there. The whole ride back was quiet.

The train finally stopped at the station. I got off with Rosaline and followed her to get our bags. Hermione's parents were already there to take her home. We each hugged her goodbye and then she left. Ron's mother came and started to smother him. It was quite hilarious, I was dying to meet his mother.

"You must be Aaralyn," Mrs. Weasley said, "I've heard quite a lot about you."

"You have?" I asked curiously.

"Well you _are _with my son, George," she said, "He can't keep his trap shut about you."

I giggled, a little embarrassed. George was standing behind her and groaned in annoyance.

"Mum," he complained, "Don't you have another child to humiliate in public?"

"Oh shush George," Mrs. Weasley said and lightly smacked his arm.

I giggled again, this time because of George's face. He looked so embarrassed.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he said.

"It's okay," I said, "I think she's nice."

"Nice?" George repeated, "Not bloody likely."

"Shut up, she's your mother," I said.

"Unfortunately," he muttered.

I rolled my eyes teasingly and then walked closer to him.

"Did anyone tell you that you're cute when you're embarrassed?" I asked.

"Sod off," he muttered playfully.

I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a peck on his lips. But he turned the peck into a deep, passionate kiss.

"George!" Mrs. Weasley called, "Time to go!"

George groaned against the kiss. He pulled away and sadly smirked.

"I promise I'll see you over the summer," I said, "Until then I'll write to you."

"I'll be looking forward to it," George smiled.

He kissed me goodbye and then left with his family.

"See you guys soon," Harry said, waving goodbye.

Then he left as well. We stood alone at the train station.

"Who were we supposed to stay with anyway?" Rosaline asked.

"I don't know," I said.

"Excuse me," someone said.

We turned around to see a taller man standing in front of us.

"Are you two, Aaralyn and Rosaline?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, "Who are you?"

"Remus Lupin," he said, "I'll be taking you to your new home."

I nodded, not exactly sure to trust him or not.

"Well come along," he said, "We haven't got all day."

Rosaline and I looked at each other with questioning looks. I shrugged and decided to follow this Lupin person. We followed him to a row of town houses in London. How could this be safe? Division was _in _London. Suddenly the building moved, it stretched to reveal another small house. No one seemed to notice that another house just popped out of nowhere. Do people not care? Or could they not see it?

Lupin walked into the house, and we slowly followed. The house was dark and seemed dirty. Lupin was fine with the appearance and just walked down the hall to another room. He didn't live here, did he? Because I already had some problems with his lifestyle.

"Sirius," he called, "Sirius. They're here."

"Who's Sirius?" Rosaline whispered.

"Do you think I know?" I asked.

Suddenly a man stepped out. He had curly black hair that reached his shoulder and a scruffy unshaven face. A few gray strands peeked through his hair, revealing how old he was.

"Hello," he said, "I'm Sirius Black."

"I'm Rosaline," Rosaline said.

"Aaralyn," I introduced myself.

"Nice to meet you both," he nodded.

Lupin then appeared in the hallway.

"Ah," he said, "I see you've met your caretaker. Well I must be going. It was nice meeting you both."

He then left, leaving us standing there awkwardly.

"Well I'll show you to your rooms," Sirius said.

We followed him up the stairs. He opened one door and then opened the door next to the other one.

"Pick either one," he said, "It doesn't matter."

Rosaline nodded and smiled kindly. She walked into the first room, leaving me with the room to the right.

"So how do you know Nick?" I asked.

"I don't," Sirius said, "Dumbledore recommended me to him."

"How come?" I asked.

"I'm not exactly the type of person that wants to be seen in public," he said, "I'm quite like you. If I step out there alone, without protection, I'll soon be found and taken away."  
>"I see," I nodded, "Thanks for letting us stay here."<p>

"It's a pleasure to have some company," he smiled.

He then walked down the hallway to his room. I stood at the doorway of my room. On the door it read 'Regulus Arcturus Black.' He must have been Sirius's brother or something. I walked into the room, grimacing at how disorganized it was.

"Honestly," I said, "Doesn't anyone know how to clean in this place?"

I quickly tidied up the room and then relaxed on my bed. I sighed, realizing that this was officially my home. At least for the summer.


	18. Decisions, Decisions

**A/N: I'm sooo sorry for not updating the past couple of days! But I had just finished exams and then I was working on some kind of outside project for a friend. So I had no time to write. But now I have a chapter for you! So yay! Alright, so in this chapter it's going to have some conflicted feeling stuff going on. So get ready for that. And something to leave you confused and wondering. Thank you muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing! R&R!**

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><p><em>You think you can trust someone. You live most of your life depending on someone important to you; like a sibling, parent or best friend. But then they turn their backs on you one day, and you're alone. Sometimes I wonder if it was the right thing to do. You know, let Nick send me away. I'm pretty sure Sirius is responsible, but I don't know him. I know nothing about him. I hope that it was the right thing. I mean, it was right of him to send me and Rosaline to Hogwarts. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now. I don't think I would even be breathing. I'd probably be nothing but a mangled, lifeless body, stranded in a land of waste. Would anyone even remember me after that? If they did, would they care?<em>

_ I don't there are many people in this world that acknowledge me. It's something that I will have to get used to. I can't let anyone get close to me, or they might die. I don't want people dying for me. Which is why I wonder, should I even be with George? If I told him about the real me, would he still be with me?_

"Aaralyn," Rosaline whispered to me.

I looked up from my journal, to see Rosaline peeking her head through the doorway. She waved her, motioning me to come over. I closed my journal and walked over to her.

"What?" I asked.

"Shh," she whispered, "Follow me."

I curiously narrowed my eyes at her, but followed anyway. She told me to keep quiet as we tip-toed our way to the top of the stairs. I could hear faint voices from the room near the bottom of the steps.

"I don't think it would be safe for them here," one voice said.

"Why not?" Sirius asked.

"Because they're in danger," another voice said, "Division as moved to London, and the whole bloody Ministry wants you dead. Putting the two most wanted people together in the same house is not safe."

"I've been hiding for almost 2 years now," Sirius defended, "I'll be fine. And I can protect them."

"How touching," a slimy, familiar voice said sarcastically.

"Is that Snape?" Rosaline whispered.

"Sounds like it," I grimaced.

"Sirius Black has a heart," Snape continued, "I for one, disagree with this arrangement. The longer those girls stay here, the more and _more _they'll become like they're protector; a criminal."

"Sod off Snivellus," Sirius sneered.

"Quiet down you two," another familiar voice said.

"Moody?" I whispered.

Rosaline nodded, with a beyond curious look on her face.

"Let us not forget that those two girls are in this house," Moody said.

"I think it's good that Aaralyn and Rosaline are staying here," a sweet, soft woman's voice said.

"Who is that?" I whispered.

Rosaline shrugged.

"They need a place to stay," she continued, "Nick won't let them come back, because of their safety."

"Safety my ass," Moody snapped, "That miserable coward is only doing it so _he _doesn't die."

_No. Nick wouldn't do that. Would he?_

"Well where do you expect them to go?" the woman's voice asked, "Their parents?"

I winced a little, as well as Rosaline. She never met her mother, and her father was murdered by the Pop Family. Me, I never knew my parents. I didn't even know if I had a sister or brother. It was as if they never existed.

"They don't have parents," Sirius said, sadly.

"How did he know?" I asked.

"Beats me," Rosaline said.

I sighed and then went back to my room. If all they were going to do was argue over us, then I didn't want to hear it. There would someone who could care less where we stayed, someone who supported us, someone who was neutral...the list goes on. But either way, it would never end. Or at least until there was a new issue to discuss.

I collapsed onto my bed and sighed, deep in thought. I then reopened my journal and started to write again.

_Here's something I didn't realize, I never knew my parents. I was born in Division headquarters in Hong Kong and then taken away from them. They probably think I'm dead right now. Or maybe they're dead. I don't know honestly. I've never thought about them that much before. I had thoughts before when I was younger, but then they just faded away from me. Sometimes I wonder what they were like; if I had my father's eyes or my mother's personality. Maybe they were both like me, the special type of people. Maybe my dad was a Watcher and my mother was a Sniff, or maybe the other way around. I just hope that someday I'll find them again. And that they would remember me._

I heard a knock at my door. I looked up, expecting to see Rosaline, but instead saw Sirius. He smiled at me, to say hello.

"Do you mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Not all," I said.

He slowly stepped in and looked around the room.

"It's odd," he said, "I've lived in this house for such a long time, but I've barely been in this room. I guess because Regulus was very private about his life."

"Was he your brother?" I asked.

"Yes he was," he nodded.

"We're you two close?" I asked.

"Not really," he said, "Regulus was the good child. He listen to our parents, and became what they wanted him to be. I, on the other hand, didn't see eye-to-eye with my mother and father. They wanted me to be more like Regulus; a muggle-hating Death Eater."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"He died," he sighed, "For about 14 or 15 years now."

"Do you ever miss him?" I asked.

"You ask a lot of questions," Sirius chuckled.

I shrugged and smirked.

"Just curious," I said.

"I knew someone who was a lot like you," he smiled, "And yes, sometimes I miss Regulus."

"How did he die?" I asked.

"That's too bold to ask," he quickly replied, "I'd rather change the subject."

"Okay," I said, "What was going on downstairs?"

"You heard that?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Some of it," I said.

"It was a meeting," he said, "For the Order of the Phoenix."

"The what?" I asked.

"It's a group of witches and wizards, led by Dumbledore," he explained, "Dedicated to fighting evil Lord Voldemort and his followers, but outside of the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic."

I nodded in interest. It seemed like a fascinating thing. It reminded me of the every-day-anarchists in outside world.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Just one more thing," I said, "How did you know that Rosaline and I had no family?"

Sirius seemed to be shocked at that question. He was also nervous looking, as if he needed to think of a lie.

"Dumbledore told me," he said.

"How did Dumbledore know?" I asked.

"Nick told him," he said.

"I never told Nick about my family," I said.

"Well..." Sirius paused, "He..just knew."

He then quickly left the room before I asked anymore questions. He knew something about us, and I needed to find out what it was.

The Order was having another meeting today. And we had to stay upstairs and not make a racket. It started to become a routine. I never got to come down and see who was there. I only knew that Moody, Snape and Sirius were down there. That one voice, that sweet, angelic voice, kept me wondering and full of curiosity. I needed to know who she was.

But today, it was different. Two new voices had joined in.

"Hello Molly," Sirius said.

"Hello Sirius," she said, "It's good to see you again."

I knew that voice. It was Mrs. Weasley.

"How are you, Sirius?" a man's voice asked.

"I'm doing quite well, Arthur," Sirius said. "How are the kids?"

"Well," Mrs. Weasley started, "Ginny is starting her 4th year. Ron will be starting his 5th. Fred and George here...now where did they go? Goodness me, ever since they turned 17 they've been using their magic for everything."

"They probably went upstairs," Arthur said.

"Well at least they'll have company," Sirius said, "Rosaline and Aaralyn are up there."

My eyes widened in shock. Fred and George were actually _here_? In this house?

I quickly stood up and started to walk towards my room. I shut the door behind me and sighed in relief. Having them see me here would start questions. I didn't need that at the moment.

Suddenly I heard an odd, loud popping sound behind me. I slowly, quietly turned around to see Fred and George in the room. But their backs were facing me.

"Blimey," Fred said, "This house is bigger than it looks."

"You got that right," George said, "I wonder who's room this is."

"Mine," I said.

They suddenly turned very still. It almost looked like they weren't breathing.

"Did you hear that?" George whispered.

"Shh," Fred said, "Don't talk and be very still. They might think we're not here."

"I'm not a wild animal," I said, "I _can _see you. _And _hear you."  
>George then loosened up.<p>

"I know that voice," he said.

They turned around to see me standing there, with my arms crossed.

"Aaralyn?" Fred asked.

"The one and only," I shrugged.

"What are you doing here?" George asked.

"I live here," I said.

"Why do you live here?" Fred asked, "Are you related to Sirius?"

"No," I shook my head, "I just...live here."

"Why?" Fred asked again.

"Because I do, okay?" I snapped.

Fred held up his hands in defense. He then looked at George and then back at me.

"I'll leave you two alone," he said and then he disappeared.

George kept staring at me, in curiosity and confusion.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked.

"No," I lied, "I've got nothing to hide."

"Then you can tell me why you're living here," he said.

"No I can't," I sighed.

"Why?" he asked, starting to get frustrated.

"Because I _can't_," I said.

"That's not an excuse," he said, "You can trust me."

"I know," I sighed.

"Then please tell me what's going on," he said.

I didn't speak for a while. Should I tell him? No, it would put him in danger. But I might loose even if I don't tell him.

"I..." I paused, "I can't."

"Dammit Aaralyn," George snapped, "You have to stop bottling things up. There _are_ some people you can trust!"

He then stormed out of the room, leaving me conflicted and upset. I sighed in frustration and ran my fingers through my hair. What was I supposed to do now?

I stepped out of my room and then went to Rosaline's. She was sitting in her room, staring out the window. She had a depressed, sulking look. I knew immediately that she was thinking about Cedric.

"I need help," I said.

She turned to me, startled. She must have been so zoned out to not notice I came in.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"George and Fred are starting to get suspicious," I said.

"They're here?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. "And then they started asking questions about me being here. Mostly George though. But either way, he knows that something is going on. I want to tell him, but I don't want to loose him."

Rosaline sighed and then thought.

"You care about him, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, as if it was a dumb question. Which it was.

"Do you trust him?" she asked.

"Of course," I said.

"Then tell him," she said.

George's POV

I felt like a total git for doing that. It was Aaralyn's business, and if she didn't want to tell me than it shouldn't matter. No, it should. No, it should. Dammit, I didn't bloody know. I didn't know if I should go back in there and apologize or just be the stubborn idiot I am and stay mad at her. Come to think of it, the first choice seemed a lot nicer than the other.

I knocked on the door softly and waited for her to open. I knocked again, and there was still no reply.

"Aaralyn," I said as I knocked again.

I slowly opened the door and saw that she wasn't in there. So the first choice was obviously out of the question. I might as well wait for her. I sat down on her bed and waited for her to come back. I looked next to me and I saw a journal lying there. It was Aaralyn's.

_No, don't read it. You'd be invading her privacy. You can't do that George. But...what she didn't know couldn't harm her...no, no, no! Shut up! Don't do it._

I curiously flipped to the last page.

_Here's something I didn't realize, I never knew my parents. I was born in Division headquarters in Hong Kong and then taken away from them. They probably think I'm dead right now. Or maybe they're dead. I don't know honestly. I've never thought about them that much before. I had thoughts before when I was younger, but then they just faded away from me. Sometimes I wonder what they were like; if I had my father's eyes or my mother's personality. Maybe they were both like me, the special type of people. Maybe my dad was a Watcher and my mother was a Sniff, or maybe the other way around. I just hope that someday I'll find them again. And that they would remember me._

Well that explained why she was living with Sirius. But what the bloody hell was she talking about? What was Division? What's a Watcher? What the hell is a Sniff supposed to be? What was the "special type" of people? I flipped back one page.

_You think you can trust someone. You live most of your life depending on someone important to you; like a sibling, parent or best friend. But then they turn their backs on you one day, and you're alone. Sometimes I wonder if it was the right thing to do. You know, let Nick send me away. I'm pretty sure Sirius is responsible, but I don't know him. I know nothing about him. I hope that it was the right thing. I mean, it was right of him to send me and Rosaline to Hogwarts. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now. I don't think I would even be breathing. I'd probably be nothing but a mangled, lifeless body, stranded in a land of waste. Would anyone even remember me after that? If they did, would they care?_

_ I don't there are many people in this world that acknowledge me. It's something that I will have to get used to. I can't let anyone get close to me, or they might die. I don't want people dying for me. Which is why I wonder, should I even be with George? If I told him about the real me, would he still be with me?_

I slammed the book shut. So she was hiding something from me. I knew it. But now I knew why she wouldn't tell me; because whatever it was, it would kill me. She didn't want that. But what the hell _was _it?

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><p><strong>AN: *GASP* SECRETS! So will Aaralyn tell George? What is Sirius's secret? Tell me in the reviews!**


	19. One Secret Out, Another Remains Untold

**A/N: This chapter is going to be short, but with some mystery. So in the last chapter you found out that Sirius knows about Aaralyn's family, but how does he? Well you're not going to find out in this chapter. HAHA! Don't worry you'll find out soon! Anyways, thank you to my faithful readers for reviewing! R&R!**

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><p>The meeting had just ending, freeing me from the upstairs prison. I walked around the downstairs, looking for something interesting. When I was walking down the hall, I heard an odd grunting, grumbling mutter around the corner. As I walked closer, it became clearer. I walked around the corner, to see a small, elf. A house-elf if I was correct. He looked up at me and sneered. He continued to mutter as he passed by me, freaking me out a little.<p>

I shook of the nerves that the elf gave me and continued roaming through the house. I saw one room that caught my eye immediately. I slowly stepped into the room to get a better look. The walls were covered with faces; all of them were connected to each other with vines. It almost looked like a family tree. Names were neatly written underneath each face, revealing who was who. I figured this must have been Sirius's family, since it was his house. I searched all of the strange faces, to see if I knew any. I knew none of them.

I finally found Sirius's name, but his face was burnt off; as if he wasn't a part of the family. I started to wonder what happened. He did mention that he hated his family; maybe they weren't so found of him either. I then saw a face next to him; his brother Regulus. Just by looking at him, I felt something odd.

Suddenly I heard a loud and rude cough behind me. I turned around startled, to see the same house-elf from before.

"What would you be doing here?" his low, crackly voice asked.

"Just looking around," I said, "A little curiosity never hurt anyone."

"I believe there's an old muggle saying," he said, "Curiosity killed the cat."

"That's true," I said, "But a cat has nine lives. So the cat has 8 more lives to be as curious as he wants."

"Snappy and clever," he said, "Just like your father."

I looked at him, now even more curious.

"My father?" I repeated.

The elf suddenly went wide-eyed and vanished before me.

_How come everyone knows something about my family, but I don't?_

Another day, another meeting. Which meant I had to stay upstairs, again. I just sat in my room, alone and bored. For almost an hour I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling. I tried to make images with the unique marks on the ceiling, but that quickly became boring. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said.

The door slowly opened but I didn't look to see who it was.

"What, I don't get a hello?" a familiar voice asked.

I looked up to see Ron, smirking at my boredom. I jumped up from my bed and hugged him hello.

"So I'm guessing your parents are here," I said.

"Yeah," he sighed, "And they brought me. I didn't know that you lived here."

"I moved here when school ended," I said, "So did your parents just bring you?"

"No," he said, "They brought everyone; me, Ginny, Fred and George."

"Oh," I said, a sudden sadness going through me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing my sudden change of mood.

"Nothing," I said, "It's just George."

"What did that git do?" he asked.

"It's not him," I said, "It's me. I don't know if I should tell him about...the real me."

Ron sighed and sat down, and then patted the empty space next to him. I sat down and waited for Ron to speak.

"First things first," he started, "I'm not good with giving advice, so I suggest not to follow it. But anyways, George might be my brother, and I might think he's a git, but he's a nice guy. And he _really _likes you. So if you trust him, tell him."

I nodded my head and smiled.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem," he said, "Just don't ask for my advice on relationships e_ver _again."

"You know," I said, "You're not acting like the ass you usually are."

"Hey," he snapped, "I can be nice sometimes."

I knew he was here somewhere. But I also knew why I couldn't find him; he was avoiding me. I didn't blame him honestly. I wouldn't be surprised if I never found him.

I suddenly bumped into someone; George. He didn't exactly look excited to see me.

"Hi," I said.

"Hey," he said, trying not to look at me.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked.

He nodded, even though I could tell he could care less about what I had to say.

"I haven't been honest with you," I said, "And I know that you know that. And since you want to know, I'll tell you."

George looked surprised and a little relieved that I was going to tell him.

"But there are certain people that you can't tell," I said, "Such as anyone else at school."

He nodded anxiously, waiting for me to continue.

"Alright," I started, "I'm not a witch. I'm just any other muggle in this world. But at the same time I'm _not _like any other muggle. There are people in the muggle world that are completely different. They're almost like wizards but they don't use wands. They can see the future, levitate objects or can kill someone just by screaming. There are bunches of others, too. The point is, I'm what they call a Keeper. Which means that I can do everything. I can see the future, levitate objects, kill someone by screaming, heal wounds, hunt down people like a bloodhound, and all of this other crazy stuff."

George didn't say anything, he just stared at me in shock and somewhat disbelief.

"You don't believe me, do you," I said.

"Not really," he said honestly, "It sounds ridiculous."

I rolled my eyes and then raised my hand up. Immediately one of the pictures on the wall floated up and moved towards me. George turned around and then jumped back two feet. He looked at my hand and then at the picture.

"Bloody hell!" he said, "You're doing that?"

"No I'm just lifting my hand in the air while a picture is floating by itself," I said sarcastically.

I then gently pushed my hand forward and set the picture back on the wall.

"So do you believe me now?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, "But why are you here?"

"Because a group called Division is out to get me," I said, "They want to use me as the ultimate weapon to bring back psychic warfare. They're just going to use me until the day I die. So I ran away. I was sent to Hogwarts so they wouldn't find me. And now Division has moved their headquarters to London, so I couldn't stay with the people that were watching me."

"Uh..." George paused, "I don't know how to take this."

"Don't worry," I said, "You're reacting quite well. I had levitate Ron to the ceiling in order for him to believe me. He squealed like a little girl."

George laughed and shook his head in fake shame.

"I'm not surprised," he chuckled.

"Well who isn't?" I asked, "He's sort of a wimp."

"I missed your insults," George smiled.

I blushed and looked down at my feet.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I said.

"It's alright," he said.

"I feel bad for not telling you," I said.

He stepped closer to me, lifted my chin so I could look at him, and then softly kissed me on the lips. I missed the feelings of his lips on mine. I gladly kissed back and wrapped my arms around his neck.

Suddenly we heard a cough, trying to get our attention. We pulled away from each other to see Sirius looking at us, and giving us a disapproving look. I blushed and shyly fiddled with my fingers. George awkwardly waved at Sirius with a nervous smile on his face.

"Please," Sirius said, "None of..._that _in my house."

I nodded and Sirius finally walked away. George gasped for breath and leaned against the wall.

"Were you holding your breath?" I asked.

"He freaks me out a little," George said, "I thought he would kill me."

I giggled as George turned red in embarrassment.

"It's not funny," he said.

"Yes it is," I laughed.

"Sod off," he muttered.

I smiled and then stood on my tip-toes to kiss him lightly. His embarrassed scowl turned into a grin and he then kissed me back. It felt good to have him back.

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><p><strong>AN: Wow! Even Kreacher knows about Aaralyn's family! Shocking! So tell me what you think! Review!**


	20. Reunited

**A/N: I am so so so so so SO SORRY! My computer decided to be a bitch and die 2 days ago. So I couldn't write that day. Then my sister let me borrow her charger since we have the same type of computer. But then she took it away from me because she needed it again! And then it was dead again! DUMBASS COMPUTER!**

** So anyways, this is it! This is the chapter where you find out about Aaralyn's family! YAY! I hope you're excited. Thank you muentiger for reviewing. I wonder where im-the-doctor went. (Please come back Morgane!) Alright, R&R!**

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><p>Have you ever gotten a feeling where you see a random stranger, but you think you've seen them before? Or when you know you don't know someone, but you have a feeling that you do? That's what I felt at that moment, standing in front of the door that led to the Black's family tree room. There was something about this family that was vaguely familiar to me, but I didn't know what. Something about them just kept tugging and pulling at my curious mind. They knew more about me then I knew about myself; and why did they? Maybe my fantasies were drowning out the reality of it, or maybe not. I probably had nothing to worry about, or maybe I did. I didn't know <em>what <em>to think.

I open the door to be once again greeted by the strange faces that covered the room, wall to wall. The emerald green paint made their porcelain faces stand out in elegance; but from what I heard from Sirius, there was nothing 'elegant' about them. I noticed the burnt spot on the wall, replacing Sirius, once again. And near by was Regulus; and then the odd feeling came back to me. My nerves tingled and a curious chill ran up and down my spine repeatedly. I brushed my fingertips along his pictures and let them drag across the wall. An unusual gap of green was on the wall. It was almost as if it was hiding someone. I tried to scratch at the paint but nothing peeled away. Was there even someone behind it? Whoever it was obviously was a disgrace to family; they made it seem like they never existed.

I knew that I should not be poking my nose where it didn't belong, but it was my nature to snoop. So when things got too complicated to solve, I had to go to the one person that knew _exactly_ what was going on; Sirius.

I walked through the house to find Sirius sitting in the dining room, reading the _Daily Prophet_. He flipped through the pages and grumbled to himself as he read about the Ministry of Magic. I cleared my throat to get his attention, making his flick up from the paper. Once he noticed it was me, he sighed and closed the paper.

"I know why you're here," he said.

He stood up and walked right past me. I guessed that he wanted me to follow, which I did. We returned to the Black family tree. He walked towards the wall that had his name, his brother's and the rest of his side of the family. He touched the spot were his face was a black splotch.

"My mother did that," he said, "On the day I ran away. I was 16, but I was glad to leave."

I sadly looked up at the very spot where he was looking. Was it really that terrible here?

"But I didn't bring you here to tell you that," he said.

He then pulled out his wand and aimed towards the gap of green paint on the wall. He muttered some sort of spell, which made the paint slowly peel away. Inch by inch it fell off, making me grow impatient to know what was back there. It revealed a very beautiful woman. Her dark hair was pulled to one side and was in neat curls. Her dark eyes were deep and penetrating. A neatly written font was put underneath her; _Annabeth Wunderlich_. A vine connected her to Regulus; she was his wife.

"She was a muggle," Sirius said, "My parents never forgave Regulus for marrying her. But he loved her, and she loved him."

"She's beautiful," I said, a small smile grew on my face.

_Annabeth. That's my middle name._

But then the paint continued to peel. Someone else was behind the paint. It finally all vanished, and my eyes went wide. A young girl with dark hair and dark eyes was connected to them both; it was _me_. The name '_Aaralyn Black_' was sketched underneath the picture.

"Th-that's," I stuttered, "T-tha-that's...me?"

Sirius nodded. I was speechless after that. How was I supposed to take this? I didn't expect _this _to happen!

"Once you were born you were taken away by Division," he said, "Your mother died of child birth, putting your father in great misery. A few months later, he died as well."

I could feel tears surfacing and my breath shortening.

"Your mother was a Watcher," Sirius said, "And a very good one. She knew that she was going to die, and she knew that you would come back. She told me that one day I would have to tell you all about your parents."

Then I exploded; tears came by buckets. My knees buckled and I landed on the ground. Sirius slowly came down on his knees and pulled me to him. He hugged me, and let my tears stain his clothes. I didn't know if I was crying tears of joy or tears of sorrow. Maybe it was both. But either way, I finally found my family.

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><p>Today the Order had another meeting. Summer was almost over, so it this would be the last time that I would have to stuck in my room. This time I sat with Rosaline in the guest room, since we knew that everyone else would soon be here. I heard the door open and close several times, letting more members come in. For almost an hour we had nothing to do, so I decided to tell Rosaline what happened a few days ago.<p>

"_Wow_," she said.

I nodded in agreement.

"So..Sirius is your uncle?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Huh," she mumbled, "Well I'm speechless. I mean I am literally _without_ speech."

"I was the same way," I said.

"Wow," she repeated.

Suddenly to door opened, revealing Ron and Hermione. I jumped up from my chair and hugged each of them hello.

"Aaralyn?" Hermione asked, "Rosaline? What are you two doing here?"

"They live here," Ron said.

"You didn't mention that in any of your letters," Hermione said towards me.

"Sorry," I shrugged, "I guess it slipped my mind."

"How could it 'slip' your mind?" Rosaline asked, "You just found out that Sirius is your freakin' _uncle_."

Ron and Hermione stared at me in shock and surprise.

"Uncle?" Ron asked.

"His brother, Regulus," I said, "Was my dad."

"I didn't know he had a brother," Ron said.

I shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"So who else is here?" I asked.

At that moment a loud, familiar popping noise went off behind me. I jumped and squealed from being startled. I turned around to Fred and George laughing their asses off. I scowled and slapped them both on the arm.

"Don't. Do. That," I said between each hit.

"Oh calm down," Fred said, "Just having a little fun."

"And besides," George said, "You look cute when you're scared."

"I was _not _scared," I blushed, "I was startled."  
>"Then you look cute when you're startled," he smirked.<p>

I smiled and kissed him sweetly, making Fred and Ron gag very loudly. I pulled away, rolling my eyes.

"Please don't do that," Fred said, "Not in front of _me _at least."

"Or me," Ron added.

"Oh sod off," George said.

Fred rolled his eyes and apparated out of the room. George winked at me, kissed my cheek and then apparated as well. I smiled and then turned around to see a happy Hermione and a fake-nauseous Ron. I rolled my eyes at Ron's disgust.

"Get over it," I said.

Suddenly the door opened again, revealing Harry. Hermione quickly attacked him with a hug.

"Harry!" she said as hugged him, "We heard about the dementor attack. You had us worried sick."

"Let him breathe, Hermione," Ron said.

Harry walked around the room a bit.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"This is headquarters," Ron said.

"The Order of the Phoenix," Hermione added.

"You could have mentioned this in your letters," Harry said and then turned back to us.

"What?" he asked.

"Dumbledore didn't want us to tell you," Ron said.

"He wanted it to be kept a secret from you," Hermione said.

"Dumbledore wanted to keep this from me?" Harry asked, "Why?"

Suddenly Fred and George popped into the room again.

"We thought we heard your dulcet tones," Fred said.

"Don't bottle it up though mate," George said,"Let it out."

"Anyways, if you're done shouting-" Fred said.

"-Why don't we hear something a little more interesting?" George asked.

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><p>Fred and George had made a new invention, the Extendable Ear. It was supposed to make you hear anything from where the ear was, even if you were pretty far away. So we stood on the top of the stairs, leaning over the railing. George lowered the ear to listen to the Order.<p>

"If anyone has a right to know, it's Harry," Sirius said, "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even know Voldemort was back. He's not a child, Molly!"

"He's not a adult either," Mrs. Weasley said, "He's not James, Sirius."

"He's not your son," Sirius said.

"He's as good as," said, "Who else has he got?"

Ginny came to join our eaves dropping.

"He's got me!" Sirius said.

"How touching and paternal, Black," Snape said, "Perhaps Potter will grow up to be a felon, just like his godfather."

"Now you stay out of this, Snivellus," Sirius said.

"Snape's part of the Order?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately," I sighed.

"Git," Ron muttered.

"I don't care what Dumbledore says about your supposed reformation," Sirius said, "I know better."

"Why don't you tell him?" Snape asked, "Or are you afraid he won't take serious the word of a man hiding in his mother's house?"

All of sudden there were a bunch of muffled sounds. We looked down to see Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, pulling the ear loose.

"Crookshanks, let go!" Hermione whispered/yelled to her cat, "Put it down!"

Then Crookshanks finally snapped off the ear and we lost reception. Fred and George sighed angrily as they pulled up the string.

"Hermione, I hate your cat," Ron said.

"You have always hated her cat," I said, "What makes this time any different?"

"Bad Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered.

Crookshanks tugged the ear off the line and ran off. Fred and George looked so disappointed. I patted Fred's shoulder and kissed George's cheek in sympathy. He faintly smiled at me, Fred continued to glare at the cat. Hermione, Rosaline, Ron and Harry went back to the guest room. I followed George and Fred in the room they were staying in.

"That bloody cat," George muttered.

"That was the prototype," Fred sighed.

"I'm sorry guys," I said.

"It's not your fault," Fred said, still pouting.

They looked like children who got disappointing gifts for Christmas. It was so sad. They were really proud of their work. I sat down next to George on his and rest my head on his shoulder.

"So do we ever get to join the Order?" I asked.

"Probably _not_," George said.

"Considering the fact that our parents are in the Order and wouldn't want us to get hurt," Fred added.

"And you're a muggle, so obviously not you," George said.

"Uh..not exactly," I said.

Fred and George looked at me curiously.

"I just found out I'm a half-blood," I said.

"Really?" Fred asked.

"So you found out who you're parents are?" George asked.

"_Were_," I corrected.

"Oh," Fred said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I sighed, "They died a long time ago."

"So who are they?" George asked.

"My mom's name was Annabeth Wunderlich," I said, "And my father's name was Regulus Black."

"Black?" Fred asked, "As in Sirius Black?"

"Yeah," I said, "Sirius and my dad were brothers."

"Wow," Fred and George said in unison.

I nodded. We didn't say much after that. It just got really awkward. Fred continued to pace around the room. George wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me close to him.

"Kids!" Mrs. Weasley called, "Dinner's ready!"

Then George and Fred smiled deviously.

"Do you want to try something fun?" George asked.

"Sure," I smirked.

Suddenly we all disappeared. We reappeared behind Mrs. Weasley. She shrieked when she saw us, which made me laugh.

"Ahh!" Mrs. Weasley screamed,"Just because you're allowed to use magic now does _not _mean you have to whip your wands out for _everything_!"

She started to smack Fred and George with her towel. She then saw me and smiled sweetly.

"Oh hello Aaralyn," she said, "It's nice to see you."

"Aaralyn you know you're not allowed to apparate," Sirius said, giving me a disapproving look.

"Yes but technically I'm not a wizard," I said, "So I can't get in trouble."

"Don't be a smart mouth," Sirius smirked.

"Yes _Uncle Sirius_," I teased.

"Deary," Mrs. Weasley said towards me, "Could you help me set the table?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," I said politely.

"Oh dear, call me Molly," she smiled.

"Okay...Molly," I blushed.

I grabbed to bowls of food and put them on the table. Mrs. Wea..._Molly _put down the plates and silverware. Bunches of people were already sitting down. I noticed Fred sneering at Crookshanks, who was licking his furry lips. I patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Let it go, Fred," I said, "Just let it go."

I finally sat down in between Sirius and George. Mr. Weasley started to talk to Harry about his hearing. Harry had the _Daily Prophet _in his hands.

"He's been attacking Dumbledore as well," Lupin said.

"Fudge is using all his power, including his influence at the Daily Prophet, to smear anyone who claims the Dark Lord has returned," Sirius said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"The Minister thinks Dumbledore's after his job," Lupin said.

"But that's insane!" Harry said, "No one in their right mind could believe that Dumbledore-"

"Exactly the point," Lupin said, "Fudge isn't in his right mind. It's been twisted and warped by fear. Now fear makes people do terrible things, Harry. The last time Voldemort gained power he almost destroyed everything we hold most dear."

I felt George's eyes cast onto me. I felt a little uncomfortable with him looking at me that way. I wanted to shout at him to look away but he soon looked away anyway.

"Now he's returned," Lupin said, "And I'm afraid the Minister will do almost anything to avoid facing that terrifying truth."

"The Minister's an idiot," I muttered.

"We think Voldemort wants to build up his army again," Sirius said, "Fourteen years ago he had huge numbers at his command, and not just witches and wizards but all manner of dark creatures. He has been recruiting heavily and we have been attempting to do the same. But gathering followers isn't all he's interested in-"

Mad-Eye Moody coughed roughly to interrupt him, as if he was saying too much.

"We believe Voldemort may be after something-" Sirius continued.

"Sirius!" Moody interrupted.

"Something he didn't have last time," Sirius said.

"You mean, like a weapon?" Harry asked.

Sirius was about to answer when Mrs. Weasley dropped her knife and snatched the _Daily Prophet _out of Harry's hands.

"No!" she said,"That's enough! He's just a boy, you say much more and you might as well induct him into the Order straight away."

"Good!" Harry said, "I want to join! If Voldemort's raising an army then I want to fight!"

Sirius leaned back in his chair and gave Mrs. Weasley a look that said 'well there you go.' I guess you can't keep him away from a good fight.

"Well if Harry can join, then I don't see why I can't," I said.

"Aaralyn," Molly said.

"What?" I asked, "I can help. I've fought off an army before, I can do this."

By saying that I remembered what happened in Hong Kong. Nick had followed Division to a construction sight, and my naive-self followed him. The Pop family also ambushed us, but we won a good fight. If I could do that, then why can't I join the Order?

"It's not safe for you," Lupin said, "And, Rosaline, that doesn't mean you can join; it's not safe for you either."

Rosaline's excitement quickly disappeared. She was hoping to get in, too.

"Division isn't on the other side of the world anymore," Moody said, "They're right around corner, and helping us fight off the Dark Lord is going to risk your safety. They can detect any major source of power and they _will _find you if you use it."

Rosaline and I exchanged a disappointed look. I then started to push around my food with my fork.

_This is so unfair. But unfortunately, it's true._


	21. The Start of Another Year

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter! So anyways, this will be a short chapter. Just a filler basically. But something very shocking happens at the end.**

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><p>"Do have all of your books?" Molly asked.<p>

"Yes," I said.

"All of your notebooks?" Molly checked.

"Yes," I said.

"Alright," Molly said, "Be safe and keep an eye on Fred and George for me."

I smiled and nodded. I waved goodbye and followed Rosaline, Harry, Ron and Hermione to the train. On the way we saw Malfoy with his friends, Crabbe and Goyle.

"I'm surprised the Ministry is still letting you walk around free, Potter," Malfoy sneered, "Better enjoy it while you can. I expect there's a cell in Azkaban with your name on it."

Harry furiously charged at him, but Ron held him back before he could attack.

"What did I tell you?" Malfoy said to Goyle and Crabbe.

"Just stay away from me!" Harry yelled.

They soon walked away, leaving us in peace. I wasn't going to enjoy this year as much.

We found an empty compartment and sat down. Soon the train left the station and we were on our way to Hogwarts. We didn't say much on the train. Harry kept looking out the window, Hermione was holding her cat and Ron was just being a pig and eating everything. Rosaline was reading a book, leaving me with nothing to do. I left the compartment, and went to find George and Fred. I found them in a compartment with one other person. I opened the door and suddenly an explosion went off. Smoke started to spill out, making me cough terribly.

"Sorry," George said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I coughed, "Just dandy. What _are _you doing in here?"

"Testing our products," Fred smiled.

"Lovely," I said sarcastically.

I sat down next between George and Fred. Across from me was a 7th year Gryffindor. He playfully smirked at me.

"Hello there," he said, "I'm Lee Jordan. And you are?"

"Aaralyn," I said, "And George's girlfriend."

His smile quickly went away. George smirked as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Sorry mate," George said, "Better luck next time."

I giggled and scooted closer to George.

"Oh yuck," Fred scoffed, "Now they're going to be all _lovey-dovey_."

"Sod off," George and I said in unison.

I kissed George goodbye and met up with Hermione, Harry, Ron and Rosaline again. The last carriage had already pulled away, leaving us to wait for the next one. Neville soon happily joined us.

"Hey guys," Neville said.

"Neville," we all said.

Harry turned around, as if he heard something, and stared in shock.

"Do you see that?" Harry said.

We all turned around, but saw nothing but a carriage.

"See what?" Ron asked.

"That thing pulling the carriage," Harry said.

"Nothing is pulling the carriage," Hermione said, "It's pulling itself like it always has."

We walked up to the carriage to see a girl reading a magazine upside down.

"You're not going mad," she said and lowered her magazine, "I can see them, too. You're just as sane as I am."

She had very light blonde hair, almost white. Her skin was pale, too. She wore crazy clothes and odd jewelry. She reminded me of Cassie; wacky with colors. We got on the carriage and sat there awkwardly, waiting to be pulled away to Hogwarts.

"Everyone this is Loony Love-" Hermione stopped herself, "Luna Lovegood."

People called her loony? She didn't seem loony to me.

"What an interesting necklace," Hermione said.

"It's a charm actually," Luna said, "Keeps away the Nargles."

_Nargles? What are those? _

Everyone glanced at each other awkwardly.

"Hungry," Luna said, "I hope there's pudding."

The carriage started to move towards the school.

"What's a Nargle?" Ron whispered.

"No idea," Hermione said.

* * *

><p>It felt nice to return to Hogwarts. I missed the people, the classes and the teachers (not including Snape). It was better than the outside world; a whole lot better.<p>

Rosaline and I sat down at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall. Luna was also in Ravenclaw, so we sat down next to her. I looked over at the Gryffindor table to see George smiling at me. I smiled back and waved.

"Your attention please!" Dumbledore said, "A few announcements. We are pleased to welcome back Professor Grubblyplank who will be filling in for Care of Magical Creatures while Professor Hagrid is on temporary also wish to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge."

He gestured to a small lady in pink. She looked like a pink garden gnome. She had a sickeningly sweet giggle and a stupid perky smile. She made me want to choke myself to death.

"I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing the Professor good luck," Dumbledore continued, "As usual, our caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to-"

He was interrupted by someone softly clearing their throat. Everyone turned their heads to Umbridge.

"Thank you Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome," she sweetly said, "And how lovely to see all your bright happy faces smiling up at me."

What smiling faces?

"I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends," she smiled.

"She's joking right?" I whispered to Rosaline.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be a vital importance," Umbridge said, "Although each Headmaster has brought something new to this historic school-"

She nodded to Dumbledore and all I could think about was this: SUCK-UP!

"-Progress for sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved," Umbridge continued, "Perfect what can be perfected and prove practices that ought to be prohibited."

She giggled which made me want to gag even more. There was the faintest applause and Umbridge sat back down.

"Thank you Professor Umbridge," Dumbledore said, "That really was most illuminating."

"What the hell?" I said.

"I know, right?" Rosaline said.

"You know," I said, "I think I might hate her more than Snape."

"Don't say 'hate,' Aaralyn," Rosaline said, "You don't even know her."

"Fine," I said, "Then I dislike her with a fiery, burning passion."

Rosaline's POV

Our first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts, with Umbridge. I knew that I wasn't supposed to hate people I didn't know, but she _did _disgust me very much. She wasn't exactly the best choice for the Dark Arts teacher. And please note I was being sarcastic. Of course she shouldn't be teaching this class; she's the exact opposite!

I told Aaralyn that I would meet her there, since I still wasn't ready. I rushed out of the common room and hurried to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room. I was still putting my books in bag while I was walking. I took a left, not looking up from my bag. Which unfortunately made me bump into someone. I started to fall back when a pair of strong arms caught me. I slowly looked up and was shocked. It was Draco Malfoy. He helped me up and then picked up a book that was on the ground.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he handed me my Potions book.

I nodded cautiously.

_Is this some kind of joke?_

I put my book in my bag and started to walk away.

"See you around, Rosaline," he said.

I stopped and turned around. He smirked and continued to walk to his class.

"What the hell was that?" I asked.

Draco Malfoy was being...nice?

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><p><strong>AN: Hehehe (smile deviously). Didn't see that one, did you? Tell me what you think in the reviews.**


	22. Slytherins and Pink Gargoyles

**A/N: I actually wrote this one at like 12:30 am this morning. I thought I was never going to get any sleep..but I did! So anyways this is just another filler, nothing major (well nothing _too_ major at least..hehehehe). R&R!**

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><p>"Your previous instruction for this subject has been disturbingly uneven," Umbridge said passing out new books, "But you will be pleased to know, from now on you will be following a carefully structured, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic."<p>

I flipped through the pages, looking at it oddly. There was something wrong with these books. Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes?" Umbridge asked.

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells," Hermione said.

"Using spells?" Umbridge laughed, "Why I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."

"We're not gonna use magic?" Ron asked.

"You'll be learning about defensive spells, in a secure risk-free way," Umbridge said.

"Well, what use is that?" Harry asked, "If we're gonna be attacked, it won't be risk-free."

"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class," Umbridge snapped, "It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all is what school is all about!"

"And how is theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry asked.

"There is nothing out there, dear," Umbridge said, "Who would you imagine would want to attack children like yourself?"

"Oh, I don't know,"Harry said, "Maybe Lord Voldemort?"

There were a few whispers in the room and I saw a few people shiver. The fact that Voldemort returned set people even more off edge; even though some people didn't believe it.

"Now let me make this quite plain," Umbridge said, "You have been told that a certain Dark Wizard is at large once again. This...is...a...lie!"

"It's not a lie, I saw him!" Harry said, "I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge said.

"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" Harry asked.

Rosaline winced at the sound of his name. She was still a little weak about the subject of Cedric's death. Who could blame her?

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," Umbridge said.

"It was murder," Harry said, "Voldemort killed him. You must know this-"

"Enough!" Umbridge snapped, "_Enough_."

"It's the truth," I spoke up, "Harry wouldn't lie."

"I thought I said that students will _raise their hands_ in my classroom to speak," Umbridge hissed.

I then raised my hand.

"Yes," Umbridge growled.

"Voldemort _is _back," I said, "The only people that are lying about his returning are those in the Ministry. _Including _the Minister, himself."

A few people stared at me in shock, including Ron, Hermione, Rosaline and Harry. They knew it was the truth but they were surprised that I had the guts to say it out loud in class.

"You shall _not _insult the Minister of Magic in my classroom," Umbridge almost shrieked, "Detention, Miss White!"

I didn't care that I had detention. Sometimes I wished that I could use the Constitution as my defense, but we were in England _not _America.

* * *

><p>"What the <em>bloody <em>hell Aaralyn?" Ron said as we left class.

"You could be in great trouble for what you just did," Hermione said.

"Spare me the lecture, Hermione," I sighed, "I did the right thing."

"_No_," Rosaline said, "It might have been the truth, but you don't just tell off a teacher like that."

"I only got detention," I said, "It's obviously not that big of a deal if I got detention."

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. Of course she disapproved, it was Hermione. A part of me didn't blame her for being mad, but most of me was patting myself on the back for a job well done.

Rosaline's POV

Our next class was Potions with Slytherin. Great, the two things I hated most put into one; Potions and Slytherin. Aaralyn and I sat next to each other and waited for class to begin.

"When will Satan's spawns arrive?" I asked Aaralyn.

She checked the grandfather clock that sat in the corner of the room.

"Well if I'm right...and I usually am," Aaralyn said, "In 5, 4, 3, 2...now."

At that moment several obnoxious voices entered the room, including Malfoy. He casually walked by us and glared at Aaralyn.

"White," he spat.

"Malfoy," she hissed in reply.  
>"Still hanging out with the usual freaks, I see," Malfoy nodded towards me.<p>

_I guess he's back to his normal, cruel self._

"I see your still hanging out with the usual dumbasses," Aaralyn nodded to Crabbe and Goyle, "Seriously Malfoy are you too lazy to get some civilized friends?"

"We _are _civilized," Crabbe butted in.

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Aaralyn snapped.

"Someone better teach you how to talk to your superiors," Malfoy said.

"You don't mean yourself, do you?" I asked, "Because then you would be lying."

"Don't talk to me that way," Malfoy hissed, "You filthy little mudblood."

"Now Malfoy," Aaralyn growled, "Let us not forget what I did to your nose last year."

Malfoy glared, rolled his eyes and walked away. Aaralyn looked at me with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm fine," I sighed.

"Hey, did you notice that Goyle lost weight?" Aaralyn asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, "But I think Crabbe found it."

Aaralyn busted out laughing causing me to laugh as well. Suddenly Snape walked into the room, and we immediately stopped.

"Today we will be making a simple Sleeping Draught," Snape said, "I will put into groups of two. The first group is Crabbe and Lovegood."

Crabbe groaned and slumped over to the seat next to Luna. At least she wasn't with Malfoy.

"Goyle and Quincy," Snape said off of the list.

I zoned out for a while and started to fiddle with my pencil.

"...White and Parkinson," Snape said.

Aaralyn rolled her eyes; she was paired off with Pansy. Poor girl.

"Moriali and Malfoy," Snape finished the list.

My eyes widened.

_Malfoy? Please tell me there is another person in this class by the name of Malfoy!_

Draco Malfoy walked over to the seat next to me and sat down. He smirked when he saw the terrified look on my face.

_Someone murder me._

"Your ingredients are already on your table," Snape said, "The directions are on page 97 of your textbooks. You may begin."

I pulled out my book and flipped to page 97. I kept my eyes on the pages, nowhere else. I didn't want to look at Malfoy. I tried to ignore his stares, I tried to pretend that he didn't exist, but it didn't work. He was still there no matter what.

I poured in the first two ingredients and began to stir. The potion slowly turned into a light green. The directions then said that I had to 'add the mermaid's hair as I was stirring.'  
><em>Stupid directions making me talk to Malfoy. Damn you!<em>

"Hand me the mermaid's hair," I said.

Malfoy lazily gave me the mermaid's hair. The snake-like feel of it palm made me squirm on the inside. I tossed it into the cauldron as I continued to stir.

"You're stirring it the wrong the way," Malfoy said.

I looked at him surprised. I thought he was too full of pride to talk to me. I didn't answer him though, I just gave him a questioning look.

"You're supposed to stir it counter-clockwise," Malfoy said.

He slowly grabbed my hand and moved it in a counter-clockwise circle. He kept his hand on mine for a while. He was starting to get uncomfortably close.

"Thanks," I said.

He finally let go and let me continue. Every now and then he would give me a tip or help out when I needed an extra hand. He only made small talk, no full conversations.

The potion was finally finished. Snape walked by our table and glanced into the cauldron.

"A job well done," Snape said dully, "10 points to Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

I sat down and pulled out a book to read. I could feel Malfoy eyes burning holes in me. Finally it got on my nerves.

"Do you have something to say, or are you going to keep staring at me?" I asked.

"I wanted to...apologize," he said, as if the word was foreign to him, "For what I said to you."

I looked at him in shock.

"I don't believe," I smirked, "Draco Malfoy, apologizing. We should check to see if Hell is frozen over."

"Do you want the apology or not?" Malfoy snapped.

"I don't care, honestly," I said, "But I forgive you."

"Thanks," Malfoy said.

"Whatever," I said.

I continued to read, but one thought kept bugging me. I closed the book and faced Malfoy.

"Why did you apologize anyway?" I asked, "I thought mudbloods weren't the type to apologize to."

"I don't know," Malfoy said, "You seem...nice."

Class finally ended and Malfoy left with the other Slytherins. Aaralyn walked over to me with a confused look.

"What was that all about?" she asked, "What did he say?"

"He...apologized," I said.

"No seriously, what did he do?" she asked.

"I am serious," I said, "He said he was sorry."

Aaralyn raised a brow and looked at the group of Slytherins.

"Weird," she said, stretching out the word.

I nodded in agreement.

_You had to be more than just 'nice' to get an apology from Draco Malfoy._

Aaralyn's POV

Classes had ended for the day, which was a relief but then again it wasn't. I now had to go to detention. I walked with Harry to Umbridge's office. It was moments like these made me wish I had a slow-motion button; that way it would take me forever to go to detention.

Unfortunately we already made it to the door. Harry slowly knocked.

"Come in," her nauseating voice called.

We both slowly came in and I swear to God I almost choked on my breath. Everything was pink. The walls were pink, the desk was pink, even the pens that were in a neatly placed line on her desk were pink. And the walls were _covered _with little china dishes that had pictures of kittens. On top of that, the kittens were meowing. I almost believed that I went to Hell.

"You two are going to be doing some lines for me," Umbridge said as we sat down.

Harry opened his bag for his quill but Umbridge stopped him.

"No, not with your quill," she said, "You're going to be using a rather special one of mine. Now, I want you to write 'I must not tell lies.'"

She gave us black quills with black feathers. It was the only civilized color in this room beside our uniforms.

"And _you_, Miss White," she said, with the smallest sneering tone in her bubbly voice, "You will write 'I must not insult the Ministry of Magic.'"

"How many times?" Harry asked.

"Let's see..." Umbridge thought, "As long as it takes for the message to _sink in_."

"You haven't given us any ink," Harry said.

"Oh, you won't need any ink," Umbridge said.

I then started to write on the parchment in front of me. I didn't understand how I was supposed to show I had written anything if I had no ink.

_God she is such an airhead._

Suddenly a small pain flicked in my left hand. As I continued to write, the pain got worse. Suddenly ink started to spill from the quill as I wrote. It was a deep red, almost like blood. The pain in then became unbearable. I looked over at my left hand and held back a gasp; words were carved into my skin. _I must not insult the Ministry of Magic_, it read. The words were growing red from the burning feeling. I then looked back at my paper and the blood red ink. I then realized, it was my blood. I glanced over at Harry's paper, it was the same with him.

Umbridge walked in front of Harry with a straight face.

"Yes?" she asked.

Harry hesitated and looked at his scarred hand.

"Nothing," he said.

Umbridge bent down to look at Harry eye-to-eye.

"That's right," she smiled, "Because deep down you know that you deserve to be punished. Don't you Mr. Potter?"

_Oh my God, I hate you!_

"Keep writing," she said.

I sadly continued to write, letting the pain return to my hand. I looked up at her and gave her a death glare.

_Bitch._

* * *

><p>Finally it was over. I gave Umbridge the paper, picked up my bag and quickly walked to the door.<p>

"Miss White," Umbridge stopped me.

_Jesus! What now?_

"Yes?" I asked as I turned back around.

"I don't the message hasn't exactly _sunken in_ yet," she said, "So I will stretch your detention service to everyday after class, until the end of next week."

My eyes widened. Until next _week_? What the hell?

"Thank you," she giggled, "You may go now."

I stormed out of the office with a glare of pure anger on my face. Harry looked at me as if I was about to kill him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No," I growled, "I have to stay in detention with her until the end of next week."

"Next week?" Harry asked, "That's not fair."

"You think?" I asked sarcastically, "God I _hate _her."

"Tell me about it," he said.

We walked out of the classroom to see Rosaline waiting outside.

"How was it?" she asked.

"Just dandy," I answered sarcastically, "I now have detention until the end of next week."

"Oh God that's terrible," she said.

"I know," I sighed.

"How we blow things over at the Gryffindor common room," Harry said.

"Sure," Rosaline smiled.

"Yeah I'd love to go," I agreed.

Harry smiled and told us to follow him. We came to a large painting of a big, older woman in a silk gown.

"Password?" she asked.

"Wattlebird," Harry said.

The painting moved from the wall, revealing the entrance to the common room. We walked in and saw bunches of Gryffindors hanging out. A few were sitting by the fireplace, some were playing cards, and I even saw Neville enjoying his time with his plant. I saw George and Fred giving out their magic sweets to first years, making them grow warts or get fevers.

I sneakily tip-toed over behind George and placed my hands over his eyes.

"Guess who?" I asked.

"Well blimey I just don't know," George said in mock puzzlement, "This just might take forever."

I laughed and pulled my hands away. I walked in front of him and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Why didn't you let me guess?" George teased.

"Are you kidding?" I asked, "I thought you were about to hurt yourself from thinking too hard."

Fred chuckled as George gave me a fake offended look. I giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Better?" I asked.

"No," he said.

He then pulled me closer to him and kissed me passionately on the lips. I could hear Fred scoff and walk away. George finally parted from me, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Now I am," he smiled.

I smiled back and giggled. He kissed me again and let me go. He then looked down at my hands and his eyes widened.

"What's wrong with your hand?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said.

I waved up my right hand, which had no scars.

"See?" I said.

George rolled his eyes and grabbed onto my left hand. I winced from the pain that was wearing off, but very slowly. George gasped when he saw my hand.

"What did that gargoyle make you do?" he asked.

"Write," I said, "With her 'special quill.'"

"You should go see Madame Pomfrey," he said worriedly.

"I'll be fine," I sighed. I then lowered my voice, "I can heal wounds, remember? It's a part of the whole 'Keeper' thing."

I brushed my index finger and thumb against my scars, carefully tracking the center of the pain. I then pressed them in deeply. My whole hand turned stiff in pain. I held back a shout as I healed the wound, digging my teeth into my lower lip. The worse part about being a Stitch, was that healing the wound felt ten times worse than first getting it. But luckily it was soon over; the scars were gone and so was the pain. I sighed in relief and smiled, showing George my scar-free hand.

"All better," I said, "I better get used to that, I have detention with Umbridge until the end of next week."

"That's a bloody long time," George said, "Does she hate you that much?"

"I guess so," I sighed.


	23. Brick By Boring Brick

**A/N: Another day, another chapter. Woop-di-do. Nah I'm just kidding...I'm totally psyched about the upcoming events. But _obviously _I can't tell you guys about my genius ideas. They're too awesome for you (laughter of an evil genius). Again, just kidding. You'll find out soon enough. Thank you muentiger and im-the-doctor for reviewing. Also to summer, my new reviewer! Yay, you get virtual hugs! R&R!**

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><p>"Two more days," I told myself, "Just two more days in the pink <em>hell-hole<em>."

I kept reassuring myself that I would be fine as I walked to yet another 'session' with Umbridge. She was really getting on my nerves. I couldn't stand that foul gargoyle. Not only was she going to end up permanently scarring my hand, but she wasn't teaching us anything in our Defense Against the Dark Arts class. How was I supposed to pass my O.W.L.s if she wasn't going to teach the right way? But then again I wouldn't pass them anyway since I wasn't a wizard.

I knocked on the door, waiting for her sugar-coated devil voice to beckon me.

"Come in," she said.

I opened the door, once again greeted by the torturous color that was splashed on the walls.

"Take a seat," Umbridge ordered.

I sat down at one of the desks and pulled out a piece of parchment.

"No, no," she said, "You won't be doing lines today."

"I won't?" I asked confused.

"Today you'll be answering a few questions for me," she said.

_Well at least I don't have to damage my hand anymore._

"I've noticed that you are quite..._different_ from the other students," Umbridge said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I shrugged.

"How should I explain this..." she paused, placing a stubby, pink fingernail on her chin. "You tend not to use your wand when needed to."

_Uh-oh._

"I still don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

Umbridge leaned down closer to me, I could clearly see the wrinkles spreading from the corners of her eyes. A small smile was on her thin lips.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to," she said.

I swallowed the lump that suddenly clogged my throat. She couldn't have known about the..real me. Right?

* * *

><p>I closed the door behind me and let out a sigh of relief. What the hell was with that interrogating? There was no way she could have known about my powers. Why would she care anyway?<p>

I shrugged it off and continued to walk to the common room. On the way I saw George and Fred alone in one of the hallways. They were huddled together, talking about something. I quietly made my way behind them, listening quietly.

"When do you think we'll have all the money?" Fred whispered.

"Probably by the end of the month," George whispered back.

"What do you need money for?" I asked.

They both jumped back three feet, Fred even shrieked. George had his hand clutched to his chest and breathed deeply.

"Blimey, Aaralyn," Fred said.

"You scared the hell out of us," George panted.

I rolled my eyes at their dramatic performance.

"What were you talking about?" I asked curiously.

They both stiffened up and glanced at each other.

"Uh..nothing," Fred said.

"Just guy stuff," George shrugged.

"Huh," I said, "First you said it was nothing, but then you said it was 'guy stuff.' That doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me."

"It's nothing that you need to know," Fred rolled his eyes.

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. Fred slowly stepped back, making sure he was far enough from being attacked. George stood in front of me and kissed me on the forehead, giving me a gentle smile as he pulled away.

"You don't need to worry about anything," he said, "Trust me, it's nothing."

I hesitated, confused about believing him or not. But then I sighed and gave him a sweet, short kiss.

"Okay," I smiled, "I'll see you later."  
>I then continued to walk to the Ravenclaw common room. Every now and then I would look back at them, wondering if I should have believed them or not. Once I made it to the common room, I went straight to my dormitory. I collapsed onto my bed and sighed.<p>

Suddenly images started to flicker in front of me. A small, piercing headache swarmed through my head, making me press my hand against my forehead. A full image of two redheaded boys on brooms appeared. They were throwing fireworks in a classroom. Then another image appeared of them flying away from Hogwarts, forever.

I quickly sketched down every image that I saw; the fireworks, the classroom, even the fiery red of the boys' hair. I already knew they were Weasleys, but which ones I wasn't sure yet. I finished the picture and I knew immediately it was Fred and George. But why would they leave the school?

George's POV

I watched as Aaralyn walked away, slowly disappearing around the corner. I heard Fred sigh in relief as she finally left.

"That was a close one, mate," he said.

"I don't understand," I said, "Why can't we tell her?"

"We haven't even told Mum yet," Fred said, "And you know _that_ won't be a pretty sight."

"I know," I sighed, "I just don't want to hurt her."

"I know, I know," Fred complained, "She's a great girlfriend and you care about her...blah blah blah...I've heard it a thousand times."

"I don't _just _care about Aaralyn," I said.

Fred raised his eyebrow curiously.

"Oh," Fred said slowly, "You don't just like her...You _love _her, don't you?"

"...Yeah," I finally said, "I do love her. I love her a lot."

"Isn't this a shocker," Fred said in mock amazement, "George is in love."

Fred had a huge smirk plastered on his face as he chuckled deeply.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, mate," Fred said, "Aaralyn's a nice girl. And if you love her, you should tell her. Because I wouldn't be surprised if she said she loved you, too."

"You know what, Fred," I said, "I will."

Aaralyn's POV

I pushed around the food that was left over on my plate. I was still stuck on what I over heard from Fred and George. And I got a vision of them leaving Hogwarts. What were they going to do?

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by a commotion outside of the Great Hall. I walked out with a group of students, to see Professors Umbridge and McGonagall in the middle of an argument.

"Pardon me, Professor," Umbridge said, "But what exactly it is that you are insinuating?"

"I am merely suggesting that when it comes to my students," McGonagall said, "You conform to the prescribed disciplinary practices."

"So silly of me," Umbridge sarcastically giggled, "But it _sounds _as if you're questioning my authority in my own classroom, _Minerva_."

"Not at all, _Dolores_," McGonagall snapped, "Merely your medieval methods!"

"I'm sorry dear," Umbridge said, "But to question my practices is to question the ministry, and by extension; the minister himself. I am a tolerant woman - but the one thing I will not stand for; is disloyalty."

"Disloyalty?" McGonagall repeated.

"Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared," Umbridge said, "Cornelius will want to take immediate action."

_What kind of action was she talking about?_

We were in the middle of Potions class, when Umbridge decided to stroll in, uninvited.

"Oh don't mind me," she giggled, "I just wanted to observe your teaching."

"That is...quite alright," Snape said.

We stood there awkwardly for a moment and then slowly continued our classwork.

"Turn to page 89-" Snape said.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Umbridge said, "But I thought I could ask a few questions. Now, you applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, is that correct?"

"...Yes," Snape said dully.

He obviously didn't like talking about the Defense Against the Dark Arts job he had been _dying _to get.

"But you were unsuccessful?" she asked.

"...Obviously," Snape said, the smallest hint of annoyance in his voice.

Umbridge nodded and wrote down something on her clipboard. I could hear Ron snicker as she left. As soon as she was gone, Snape smacked Ron upside his head with a textbook, which made me snicker. I quickly lowered my head, making sure I didn't get hit in the head with Snape's swinging book. Luckily he didn't notice my laughter.

"Hey," I whispered to Ron, "Did you see the new rule that Umbridge put up?"

"Of course I did," he whispered back, "She's such a neat-freak."

"No shit," I said, "I'll never be able to follow her strict dress code rules. I already hate the fact that I have to wear a skirt. Now that idiotic, pink garden gnome is making us have tucked in shirts, no loose ties and no rolled up sleeves."

"She's taking things to far," Ron agreed.

But that wasn't the end of it. She then started questioning Professor Trelawney, the Divination teacher. That poor stuttering woman was so unsure of almost everything she said. And Umbridge kept writing things down with a small smile on her face. She was really getting on my nerves with all of this nonsense.

* * *

><p>I was sitting on one of the benches in the hall, when I felt a pair of arms sneak around my waist.<p>

"Hey there, trouble," George whispered in my ear.

I smiled and turned to face him. I kissed him on the lips, with sweetness and passion. I pulled away and gave him a big smile.

"What have you been up to?" he asked.

"Just catching up on Potions work," I sighed, "Snape doubled our classes homework."

I rolled my eyes as I turned the page of my Potions book.

"Hogwarts is changing this year," I said, "Ever since Voldemort returned-"

George shivered at the sound of his name. I rolled my eyes and lightly smacked his arm.

"Man up," I complained, "It's just a name. It won't kill you."

"I'd just feel better if you didn't say it though," he said.

"Fine," I sighed, "Ever since _You-Know-Who_ returned, this just started to change."

"I know," George said.

He pulled me closer to him, now letting me tuck my head underneath his. I could feel his lips softly kissing my hair and his hand slowly running down my back. He lifted my chin up with one finger and kissed me again. This time there was so much hunger and passion in the kiss, leaving me thirsty for more. I quickly wrapped my thin arms around his neck as he pulled me closer to him, tightly holding onto my waist.

Suddenly I felt myself being pulled away by a powerful tug. I ended up at the end of the bench as George ended up on the other end. He looked as confused as I did. I heard a terribly bubbly cough grasp my attention. I looked up to see Umbridge walk by us with a faint smile on her bold pink lips.

"No public displays of affection," she said.

_Bitch._


	24. The Rebellion Begins

**A/N: Hey y'all! So here's another chapter for ya! So thank you my faithful reviewers for reviewing last chapter. And also I might not post up a chapter tomorrow. I'm leaving to go to my dad's, from tomorrow to Monday morning. *sigh* Yes that means 4 days of no writing. BOO! But I will return! Don't worry! R&R!**

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><p>Rosaline and I were walking to our next class, Divination.<p>

"I can't _stand _her," I said.

"I know what you mean," Rosaline sighed. We were talking about Umbridge; Satan's mistress.

"She really disturbs me," I said.

"And she keeps making ridiculous rules," Rosaline said, "She's turning Hogwarts into a prison."

I nodded in agreement. We were walking past the courtyard when we noticed something quite odd. Hundreds of students were swarming around the edges of the courtyard, so it must have been something important. I finally found a clear spot to look and then glared.

"Well speak of the devil and it will appear," I growled.

There Umbridge was, with Professor Trelawney. Trelawney had all of her suitcases with her, and she looked like she was crying. Umbridge just stood there and smiled at her.

"16 years I've lived and taught here!" Trelawney whimpered, "Hogwarts is my home! You can't do this!"

"Actually I can," Umbridge said, still smiling.

She was going to kick her out? Why? Of course Professor Trelawney is a little odd, but she doesn't deserve to be fired.

McGonagall quickly rushed over to Trelawney's side and hugged her as she continued to cry.

"Something you'd like to say, dear?" Umbridge asked.

"Oh, there are _several things _I would like to say!" McGonagall said.

Suddenly the doors opened to show Dumbledore walking over to Umbridge.

"Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore said, "Might I ask you to escort Sybil back inside?"

Professor Trelawny beamed up at Dumbledore and thanked him a thousand times. Dumbledore looked back at Umbridge, who wasn't as happy as Trelawney.

"Dumbledore," Umbridge said, "May I remind you that under the terms of Educational Decree #23, as enacted by the Minister-"

"You have the right to dismiss my teachers," Dumbledore said, "You do not, however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power remains with the headmaster."

"For now," Umbridge smiled.

_God please send down a strike of lightning to electrocute that evil toad!_

Umbridge then walked out of the courtyard, with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.

"Don't you all have studying to do?" Dumbledore asked us.

The students started to moved away and continue on to their classes. I've said it before, and I'll say it a thousand times more: I hate her so much!

"That foul, evil gargoyle!" Hermione said, "We're not learning how to defend ourselves, we're not learning how to pass our O...She's taking over the entire school!"

Harry had invited us into the Gryffindor common room. At the moment, we were all loathing Umbridge. I sat down on the couch, staring at the fire. Rosaline kept flipping through the pages of a book, even though I knew she wasn't reading. Harry sat next to the radio which he soon turned up when he heard Fudge talking.

"Furthermore," Fudge said, "We have convincing evidence that these disappearances are the work of notorious mass-murderer Sirius Black."

Why did they have to blame Sirius for everything? I knew that we was blamed for murdering at least 13 people, but it wasn't him.

Suddenly the fire looked different to me. I must have been hallucinating because I thought I saw Sirius's face in the flames.

"Harry!" he said.

I almost screamed, when Ron covered my mouth to mute it. We all gathered around the fire to listen to what Sirius had to say.

"Sirius!" Harry said, "What are you doing here?"

"Answering your letter," Sirius said, "You said you were worried about Umbridge. What's she doing? Training you to kill half-breed?"

"Sirius," Harry said, "She's not letting us use magic at all."

"Well I'm not surprised," Sirius said,"The latest intelligence is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

"Combat?" Hermione asked.

"What does he think, that we're forming some sort of wizard army?" Ron asked.

"That's exactly what he thinks," Sirius said, "That Dumbledore is assembling his own forces to take on the Ministry. He's becoming more paranoid by the minute. The others wouldn't want me telling you this, Harry, but things aren't going at all well with the Order. Fudge is blocking the truth at every turn, and these disappearances are just how it started before. Voldemort is on the move."

"Well what can we do?" Harry asked.

When Sirius was about to answer, we heard the sound of footsteps.

"Someone's coming!" Sirius said, "I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but for now at least...it looks like you're on your own."

Then Sirius' face faded away from the dying flames. Rain poured down outside, lightning lit up the dark night sky. Hermione looked out into the window, in deep thought.

"He really is out there isn't he?" Hermione asked, "We've got to be able to defend ourselves...And if Umbridge refuses to teach us how, we need someone who will."

She turned around to face Harry, but she didn't say anything. She just stared at him. I was confused for a moment, but then an image flashed in front of my head. I pinched the tip of my nose and then grabbed my sketchbook. Ron curiously peered over my shoulder as I started to draw. It was a bunch of students in a humungous room. The walls were replace with giant mirrors. It looked like they were practicing to duel, and Harry was teaching them. Then it was my turn to look at Harry; _he _was going to teach us.

I was walking back to the Ravenclaw common room, writing in my journal as I walked. I looked up every now and then, to see if I was going to bump into anyone.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. I could feel someone's lips brush against my neck. I giggled at the feeling and turned around to see George. I kissed him sweetly and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Hi," I giggled.

"Hey love," George smiled as he gave me a light kiss on my nose.

I pulled away from him and we continued to walk down the hall, hand in hand.

"Did you hear about the meeting?" I asked.

"Yeah," he sighed, "So do you really think people will let Harry teach them?"

"I guess it all depends," I shrugged.

"On what?" he asked.

"On whether people's skulls are too thick to realize that we need him to teach us," I said.

"Have I ever told you that you're amazing?" George chuckled.

"How so?" I smiled.

"You're devious, but in a good way," George said, "You're independent, funny, clever and extremely beautiful."

I blushed and hid a smile.

"And you also have a great smile," George added.

This made me blush even more. He was torturing me with the sweetest words ever. George suddenly stopped walking and made me face him.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

He hesitated for moment, trying to figure out what to say.

"I'm in-" he started.

"There you are!" someone said.  
>Fred came trotting by, interrupting what George was going to say.<p>

"I got this new invention idea," Fred said, "Come on, I'll show it to you."

"Sure," George sighed. He kissed me and then whispered in my ear, "I'll tell you later."

Then they both walked away. What was he going to say? Was it going to bad? God, I hoped not.

Rosaline's POV

I sat in the courtyard, reading my book. I didn't want to read actually, I wanted to get out of Hogwarts. Ever since Umbridge came to the school, I felt like I was trapped in a cage. I had nowhere to go now. I sighed, closed my book and decided to go back to the common room.

"Going somewhere?" I heard someone ask.

I jumped a few feet from the startling voice. I turned around to see Malfoy leaning against the wall, smirking at me.

"What do you want?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"I asked you a question," Malfoy said.

"Well I don't have to tell you," I said. I continued to walk, but then I heard footsteps behind me. He was following me. I turned around, very annoyed.

"Is there something you want?" I asked.

Malfoy shrugged and smirked even more.

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked.

_God, this guy will never leave me alone._

"Fine," I groaned, "Might as well."

We continued to walk, but didn't say much. It honestly felt a little awkward having him by my side. What did he want anyway?

"What are you reading?" he asked, looking at the book in my hand.

Before I could answer, he took the book from my hands.

"_William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet_," he read, "What's it about?"

"You've never heard of Shakespeare?" I asked. "Oh, right, you're a pure-blood."

"What's that have to do with anything?"

"Because Shakespeare's a muggle author."

"I see," Malfoy said, with a little disgust in his eyes, "So what's it about?"

"It's a play about a tragic love story," I said, "It's about a girl and boy who aren't supposed to fall in love since they're families hate each other. But they fall in love anyway, like nothing else mattered in the world. I've read it hundreds of times. It's one of my favorite books."

"What makes it tragic?" he asked.

"They commit suicide," I said.

"That's awful," Malfoy said shocked.

"It's not that bad," I shrugged, "They ended up together in the end."

"Not in the way that most people would imagine," Malfoy muttered.

I laughed and took the book back from his grasp. He'd never understand muggle books.

"Is that all you read?" he asked, "Depressing plays?"

"No," I scoffed, "I've read other books."

"Of course you have," he smirked, "Typical Ravenclaw."

"Of course you mock me," I rolled my eyes, "Typical Slytherin."

We finally made it to the Ravenclaw common room entrance.

"This is where I leave," I said.

"I'll see you later," Malfoy smiled and then walked away.

Wait...he _smiled_? That sounded almost unreal. I shrugged and entered the common room after I muttered the password.

_What is up with that guy?_


	25. Dumbledore's Army

**A/N: I am sooooooo sorry that I didn't update sooner. But my mom decided not to pick me up on Monday morning and changed it to Tuesday morning, making it 5 bloody days with no writing. And then when I got home I found the charger to my laptop all chewed up. My idiot cat destroyed my charger. And since my laptop is a dinosaur and it can't work without it, I couldn't write on Tuesday either. So I had to use the _other _dinosaur of a computer in my ice cold basement. But thank GOD I finally get to update! So anyways this chapter has got a BIG surprise in the end. I mean it's totally unexpected. So get ready to pop your eyes out and drop your jaws! R&R!**

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><p>The ice cold wind blew softly, biting at my ears and the tip of my nose. Snow lightly fell from the gray, cloudy sky. Since it was a Hogsmeade weekend, Hermione decided to hold the first meeting then. As Rosaline and I entered Hog's Head, where the meeting was being held, we saw many people from different houses sitting down and waiting for it to start. I quickly sat down next to George and Rosaline sat next to me. Hermione, Ron and Harry were in the front of the room, awkwardly sitting. Hermione slowly stood up and looked around the room.<p>

"Um.." Hermione awkwardly paused, "Hi. You all know why we're here. We need a teacher; a proper teacher. One who's had real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."

"Why?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Why," Ron repeated, "Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot."

"So _he_ says," the guy said, nodding to Harry.

"So Dumbledore says," Hermione snapped.

"So Dumbledore says because he says," he said, "The point is, where's the proof?"

"If Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed..." another person in the crowd said.

I could suddenly feel Rosaline's body tense up next to me. She was staring down at the ground, with a blank expression. She breathed deeply and shuddered, shaking her head to brush away the memory. She obviously still missed Cedric. And if people were going to bring it up, I wasn't going to let her sit here and listen.

"I'm not going to talk about Cedric," Harry said, "So if that's why you're here you might as well clear out now," he added then whispered to Hermione, "C'mon, Hermione, let's go. They're just here because they think I'm some sort of freak"

"Harry, wait," Hermione said.

"Is it true you can produce a Patronous Charm?" Luna suddenly asked.

Everyone's faces turned from Harry to Luna and then back to Harry. Most of them were in total shock and surprise.

"Yes," Hermione answered for Harry, "I've seen it."

"Blimey, Harry!" Dean said, "I didn't know you could do that!"

"And he killed a basilisk," Neville said, "With the sword in Dumbledore's office."

"It's true," Ginny said.

"Third year he fought off about a hundred dementors at once," Ron said.

"And last year he _really_ _did _fight off You-Know-Who in the flesh," Hermione said.

I didn't know what _anyone _was talking about. But from the way everyone was looking at Harry right now, I could tell that he did some pretty impressive things in his past years at Hogwarts.

"Wait..." Harry said, "Look, it all sounds great when you say it like that. But the truth is most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I nearly always had help..."

"He's just being modest," Hermione interrupted.

"No, Hermione, I'm not!" Harry said, "Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake you can just try again tomorrow, but out there, when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes...you don't know what that's like."

Harry sat back down and hung his head. Hermione slowly sat down next to him.

"You're right, Harry," Hermione said, "We don't. That's why we need your help. Because if we're having any chance against beating..." she sucked in her breath, "Voldemort…."

A few people in the room shuddered and had a look of fear in their eyes at the sound of his name. I still didn't see what was to worry about. Fearing a name sounded quite ridiculous to me.

"He's really back?" a young boy asked, breaking the silence.

Harry nodded and everyone was now hanging their heads. Hermione then stood up, grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote something on the top.

"If you want to join Dumbledore's Army," she said, "Sign here."

At first no one moved, but then slowly people stood up and signed their names on the paper. Soon it became a long line of people. Once it got to me and Rosaline though, Harry, Hermione and Ron pulled us aside.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I don't think you guys should sign up," Hermione said.

"What?" Rosaline said, "Why?"

"Because you aren't…" Ron started, but then Harry nudged his ribs with his elbow. Ron then leaned in to whisper, "You aren't witches."

"So?" I asked, "We still could be _some _use to you guys."

"What about Division?" Harry asked.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"For all we know," I said, "They're probably returned to Hong Kong. Trust me, we'll be fine."

Harry, Hermione and Ron still looked unsure.

"How about," Rosaline said, "We promise to only use our powers when we really need to."

I widened my eyes and opened my mouth to interfere, but Rosaline gave me a 'be quiet' look, which made me close my mouth.

"Yeah," I growled, "We promise."

Hermione and Harry looked at each other for a moment.

"Fine," Hermione sighed.

I smiled and quickly went back in line to sign up.

"You _do _think we'll be fine," Rosaline said, "Right?"

"Of course we will be," I said, "What could happen?"

* * *

><p>Ron, Hermione, Rosaline, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George and I were walking back to the school, thinking of a place to hold our D.A. meetings.<p>

"First we've got to find a place to practice where Umbridge won't find out," Harry said.

"The Shrieking Shack?" Ginny asked.

"No," Harry said, "It's too small."

"The Forbidden Forest," Hermione suggested.

"Not bloody likely," Ron quickly rejected the idea.

"Harry, what happens if Umbridge does find out?" Ginny asked.

"Who cares?" Hermione said.

Everyone, including me, stared at her in complete shock. None of us have ever heard Hermione talk like that.

"I mean, sort of exciting, isn't it?" Hermione said, "Breaking the rules."

"Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Ron asked.

Hermione laughed excitedly.

"Well," she sighed, "At least we know one thing for sure."

"What?" Harry asked.

Hermione giggled before she answered.

"Cho couldn't keep her eyes off you, could she?" she said.

I grimaced and rolled my eyes. Cho Chang had been Harry's crush for a while. But she was the reason that Cedric broke Rosaline's heart, and she was also a humungous slut, so I hated her.

The rest of the group kept walking forward, when I was suddenly pulled back by George.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Meet me in front of the Gryffindor common room tonight," he said.

"Okay," I said curiously, "Is there a reason I'm going to?"

"I've got a surprise for you," he smiled.

"Oh really?" I smiled back, "Can't wait."

We finally caught up to everyone else and continued to walk inside.

* * *

><p>I finished tying on my shoe when it was about time for me to leave. I snuck out of the common room and quietly made my way to the Gryffindor common room. I waited for about a minute when George came and kissed me hello.<p>

"So what is this surprise you have for me?" I asked.

"You'll see," he said, grabbing my hand.

He had me follow him down several hallways. At first I didn't know where we were going. But then we finally came to a blank wall, which sparked my memory. A door appeared in front of us; it was the Room of Requirement. But what was he doing bringing me back here?

We quietly walked in, entering the same dance room that we had been in before.

"What are we doing back here?" I asked.

"Wait for it," he said.

He then pulled back his sleeve to look at his watch. It was 11:59, but then it changed to 12:00.

"It has now officially been a year since we were together," he smiled.

I blushed and grinned from ear to ear.

"You remembered," I said.

"How could I forget?" he asked.

"I thought you probably would," I shrugged, "Since most guys do."

"Ah, but that's where you are wrong," he smirked, "I'm not most guys."

"Very true," I giggled.

"I have something to tell you," he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I…" he paused, "God, I don't know how to say it."

"Just say it," I said.

"I love you," he quickly said.

My eyes widened.

"You what?" I asked.

"I love you," he repeated, "I always have, but I was too afraid to say it. I remember the first time I met you, when Fred and I made that stupid aging potion to enter the TriWizard Tournament. You knew that we weren't going to make it, and _now_ I know why you knew we would grow long white beards."

I laughed lightly at the pleasant memory.

"You kept coming back in my mind after that," he continued, "Then I would see you everywhere. Wherever I went, you were there. You stood out from everyone else. I knew deep down that I was in love with you."

George then searched my eyes for an answer, but my expression was blank.

"I feel like such an idiot," he said, hanging his head.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you probably don't love me back," he sighed.

"Now, saying _that _would make you an idiot," I said.

George looked back up, with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Huh?" he said.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, "I love you, too."

He didn't say anything at first. But then he smiled and pulled me to him, kissing me passionately. I could feel his hunger against my lips as the kiss deepened. I tangled my fingers in his fiery red hair as his grip around my waist tightened. I pulled away, gasping for breath and leaned my forehead against his.

"We should get back," I whispered.

"Yeah," George sighed.

We walked out of the Room of Requirement, hand in hand. George escorted me back to the Ravenclaw common room. We stopped at the Ravenclaw entrance and turned to say goodnight.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," I smiled.

He kissed me sweetly and then walked back to the Gryffindor common room. I muttered the password and entered the Ravenclaw common room, still dazed from the amazing night.

"He loves me," I whispered to myself.

* * *

><p>Rosaline and I were sitting in the library with Hermione, studying for our pointless Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Suddenly Neville came running to us, panting heavily.<p>

"I've found a place for us to train," he whispered, incase anyone was listening.

He then ran back out of the library, making us follow him. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George were outside of the library, waiting for us. We all then followed Neville to wherever he was taking us. We then came to a door that looked very familiar to me. Then I remembered, it was the Room of Requirement. When we came in, it looked different. It was a lot bigger and giant, old mirrors replaced the walls. It was the room from my vision of the D.A.

"You've done it, Neville," Hermione said, "You found the Room of Requirement."

"The what?" Ron asked.

"It's also known as the Come-And-Go Room," Hermione said, "The Room of Requirement only appears when a person has real need of it, and is always equipped for the seeker's needs."

"So, say you really needed the toilet?" Ron asked.

"Charming, Ronald," Hermione dryly said, "But yes, that is the general idea."

"It's brilliant!" Harry said, "It's like Hogwarts wants us to fight back."

Dumbledore's Army was probably the best idea ever. And the Room of Requirement was a great place to train. But Umbridge was already on to us. The next day Filch added a new sign on Umbridge's wall of many ridiculous rules. It read that extra-curricular groups created by students were not aloud.

"She knows," Rosaline said.

"Obviously," I said.

"So what do we do now?" Ron asked.

"We keep training," Harry said, "We keep having the meetings. Umbridge has no proof that we created an army."

But then the next day _another _rule was added to the wall. Students were going to be questioned about illegal activities. She was making sure that she would find something. Any ounce of dirt she got from us, she would hand over to the Minister of Magic. And then they would point it back to Dumbledore, and then try to get him fired. She really _did _want to take over the school.

At the moment we had other things to think about. Today was our first official meeting. We were practicing Disarming Charms against a dummy that looked like a Death Eater. Neville was first in line.

He nervously held up his wand and aimed it at the Death Eater.

"_Expelliarmus!_" he said.

Instead of disarming the Death Eater, Neville's wand flew backwards and slammed against the wall. Poor Nigel almost got smacked in the head by it.

"I'm a failure," Neville sighed depressingly.

"You're just flourishing your wand too much," Harry reassured him, "Try it like this," he then raised his wand, "_Expelliarmus!_"

The wand in the Death Eater's hand flew out and landed on the ground. Then one by one, everyone took a turn at disarming the dummy Death Eater. When Ginny was finished her turn, it was soon my turn. I nervously held my useless wand and pointed it at the Death Eater.

"_Expel_-" I started, but then stopped.

I knew that I would never be able to hide it from anyone. Pretty soon they would know anyway. I sighed and then lowered my wand.

"Oh, screw it," I muttered.

I handed Harry my wand and then got back in my place in front of the dummy. Everyone was staring at me like I was an idiot. Rosaline knew exactly what I was about to do. She stared at me intensely and shook her head, telling me not to do it. But I didn't listen. I raised my hand forward, my palm facing the dummy and then focused on the wand in its hand. It immediately flew out and came towards me and then floated above my hand. Everyone gasped as they saw what I did.

"What the bloody hell is she doing?" someone said.

"How is she doing that?" another one whispered.

I turned around, facing everyone that was staring at me, with the wand still floating in my hand. I shrugged and nervously smiled.

"I guess you all should know," I said, "Since we will be working together, training. I can't use my wand. I'm a Squib."

Everyone looked at me surprised. A few people thought I was lying. It wasn't every day that you saw a Squib that could levitate objects.

"If you're a Squib then how are you doing…._that_?" Dean asked.

"Wizards and witches aren't the only people who have magical powers," I said, "In the muggle world there are people who can levitate objects, see the future, erase memories, heal wounds, and so much more. I'm one of them."

Several people were murmuring to each other, shocked at my sudden and rash action. Hermione was giving me a very disapproving look, as well as Rosaline. Harry and Ron were just standing there with their jaws to the ground. Rosaline looked around the room nervously and then slowly walked forward to my side. She then stood next to me, facing the rest of the group.

"I'm one of them, too," she said.

Again people were gasping. Harry and Ron were even more shocked. Hermione was now giving us _both _a disapproving look.

"What are you two doing at Hogwarts?" Neville asked.

"That story can wait for another time," Rosaline said, "We can't tell you much about us, since we're supposed to be under the radar. So you _cannot _tell anyone else this. What we do in this room stays in this room. The only other person that knows about this is Dumbledore."

Everyone nodded quickly but kept staring at us in utter shock. I sighed and then got back in the group, as if nothing happened.

"Um…" Harry paused, "Okay. I guess we'll move on then."

We continued our training, and soon everyone went back to normal. But people still glanced at me and Rosaline, with a sense of curiosity in their eyes.

"Why did you do that?" Hermione asked shrilly as people left the Room of Requirement.

"They were going to find out anyway," I sighed, "We might as well just tell them."

"You could have gotten in serious trouble," Hermione scolded.

"We know," Rosaline said.

"And who knows who they'll tell," Hermione continued.

"They _won't _tell," I defended, "Because I'll know if they did and then I'll hurt them. And they know I can, so they won't."

Hermione wanted to say something, but Ron stopped her.

"It doesn't matter," Ron said, "We can trust them. And besides, people would want to know why they know. So they would have to bring up Dumbledore's Army. Then they would get into to trouble with us. So they couldn't tell anyway."

Hermione sighed and nodded.

"I guess you're right," she said and then turned to us, "But don't pull something like that _ever _again."  
>"Yes, <em>Mother<em>," I teased.

She rolled her eyes but then smiled at me. We then left the Room of Requirement and went to our dorms to get some rest. If Cassie and Nick were still writing to me, they'd probably be sending letters to me, lecturing to me about how I was going to be in so much trouble. But they weren't anymore so why worry.


	26. Not As Safe As You Think

**A/N: Alright so this is a very important chapter. You guys are gonna FLIP OUT at the end. Seriously, you won't expect. But I'm not going to tell you so you'll have to read in order to find out! R&R!**

* * *

><p>Monday always ruined my week, because Ravenclaw fifth years had double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Umbridge. I didn't need to see her horridly pink toad-face for an hour and a half. It always was a nightmare in there.<p>

"You will please copy the approved text four times to insure maximum pretension," Umbridge said, "There will be no need to talk."

"No need to think is more like it,' Hermione muttered.

Umbridge glanced at her but continued to walk down the aisle between our desks. Neville had his wand out, which was against the class rules, and was practicing his Disarming Charm.

"Expelliarmus," he whispered repeatedly as he flicked his wand over and over again.

"Wands away," Umbridge snapped as she walked pass him.

I remained quiet in class; I had already learned my lesson during all of those terrible detention sessions in her pink _hell-hole_. Luckily the bell rang, ending the class. I quickly put away my books and picked up my bag to leave.

"Miss White," Umbridge then called, "Miss Moriali."

_No! No! No! Not now!_

"May I have a word with you?" Umbridge asked sweetly.

"Sure," I said in my fake-enthusiastic voice.

Rosaline and I sat back down in our desks.

"I'm sure I've already discussed this with you, Miss White," Umbridge started, "But I thought I might as well make it clear with Miss Moriali."

Rosaline glanced at me, not knowing what was going on. Well neither did I, so I just shrugged.

"You two really do stand out to me in my class," Umbridge said, "Ever since that….outburst on the first day," she paused to flick her tiny eyes at me, "I have been keeping my eye on you two."

"Why?" Rosaline asked, "There's nothing important or special about us."

"Oh but I believe there is," she said, "You two enjoy keeping to yourselves don't you."

"If you're worried about our social lives then you shouldn't be," I said, "We do have friends."

"I have noticed that you hang around Mr. Potter, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley," Umbridge said, "But you don't talk to many people within your house."

"Not that many people like us," Rosaline shrugged.

"Why is that?" Umbridge asked.

"They think we're odd," I lied.

Of course we didn't talk to anyone in our house. We didn't want anyone to get near us or they'd find out who we were.

Umbridge giggled, her personality of poisoned honey filling the air. I grimaced but shook off the nausea she was giving me.

"You know," she sighed, "I tried looking you two up in the files at the Ministry, but strangely I couldn't find Rosaline Moriali or Aaralyn White. Could you explain that to me?"

"Maybe you missed our names," I suggested.

"Or lost the files," Rosaline added.

"Well I thought that might be true," she said, "So I looked at your files in Hogwarts; considering the fact I have permission to do so. Now the files say that you two started here as first years."

"Yes," Rosaline and I lied.

"Your teachers had recording you as 'highly-intelligent and very studious,'" she continued, "But until your fourth year, things started to take a turn."

_Uh-oh._

"Your previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher said that you, Miss White, had a peculiar outburst during class," she said, "You apparently threw a boy across the room without even touching him. You ran out of the classroom with Rosaline following you out. I tried asking the headmaster and students in that class but they all have seemed to…._forgotten_. As if it never happened."

"Uh…" I paused, "I don't remember such a thing happening."

"Yeah," Rosaline agreed, "And our teacher ending up being a nutcase so does it matter what he said?"

Umbridge giggled again, but it wasn't as sweet-sounding as it usually was. It sounded a little darker and bitter.

"You might think you two are good liars, but you're not," Umbridge suddenly became very serious. Unnaturally serious; it almost scared me.

"I know everything," she said, "Don't even _think _about lying to me. You think you can hide who you really are? You can't. Not from me."

I tried to hide my sudden fear, but she was really freaking me out. How did she know about us? We never revealed anything about us in class. Was she stalking us or something?

"Nice talking to you Professor," Rosaline quickly said, "But we have to get to our next class."

I nodded in agreement and quickly ran out of the classroom with Rosaline. We didn't even bother talking about it. We just quickly got to our Divination class, luckily not too late. We quietly sat down, not saying a word until everyone was too busy to listen.

"What the _hell _was that about?" Rosaline asked.

"I have no idea," I said, "How did she find out about that?"

"Well you flew Malfoy across the room," she said, "Of course the teacher was going to make note of that."

"But I thought Dumbledore would take care of that," I said.

"Maybe he forgot to erase his memory," Rosaline shrugged, "But everyone has forgotten about it anyway, so Umbridge has no physical proof of anything."

I sighed and nodded, relieved about that small part. But she could still get us expelled for something. Suddenly a bizarre thought occurred in my mind.

"Rosaline," I said, "You don't think Umbridge could be…" I paused and spoke in a whisper, "You don't think she could be working for Division?"

"What?" Rosaline scoffed, "That's ridiculous. Division doesn't even know this place exists."

I thought about and then nodded in agreement. It was stupid for me to think of such an idea. How could Umbridge even know that Division existed if Division didn't think magic existed?

* * *

><p>I couldn't stop thinking about Umbridge after she had that dreadful discussion with us. I was scared by the idea that she could turn us in to Division, but it was ridiculous. I kept telling myself that it was just a bunch of nonsense and Umbridge was just being paranoid, but I was so curious to know how she knew about me and Rosaline.<p>

It was a peaceful Saturday morning. A thin sheet of snow covered the ground, a clear bright sky above it. I took a walk around the school grounds, visiting my favorite spot by the Black Lake. The lake was frozen over from the freezing winter evenings and previous snowy days. The ice was starting to thin out by the sunlight, but still wouldn't melt away. I leaned against the tree that I loved sitting underneath. Snow covered its bare branches and fells off in clumps as the occasional wind blew it off. I breathed deeply, letting the crisp, icy air chill my lungs. A small wispy fog escaped my lips as I breathed out.

Suddenly I heard a snapping of twigs behind me. I turned around to look who was there, but saw nothing. For moment I thought it was my imagination getting to me, until I saw a pair of eyes glowing at me from the bushes. They weren't human eyes; they were too large and unnaturally orange to belong to a person. I heard a small growl, almost sound like a wolf or a bear. I slowly stepped away, not wanting to be attack.

Quickly the animal stepped out from the bushes, revealing itself as a bearlike dog. I sighed in relief, glad it wasn't dangerous. It looked up at me and panted loudly. It then barked and wagged its tail excitedly. I cautiously stepped forward and stretched out my hand to it. The dog nudged its head forward, allowing me to pet it.

I smiled and scratched its head.

"You're a real sweetheart, aren't you?" I cooed.

It barked happily and then trotted off. It stopped midway and looked back at me. It barked again and then continued to walk along. I shrugged, guessing it wanted me to follow, which I did. I finally caught up to the dog, I found myself far off from Hogwarts. The castle was still clear in my sight. I turned back to the dog, but ended up not seeing it in front of me. I saw its tail peak out from behind a bush, but then disappeared with the rest of its body. I waited for the dog to come back out, but instead I saw a full-grown man come out; Sirius.

"Sirius?" I gasped.

"Hello Aaralyn," he smiled.

I quickly ran up to him and gave him a tight hug.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Being a good uncle and decided to visit his niece," he said.

"But you could get caught," I said.

"Not here," he said, "I traveled here in dog form. And the dementors are at Azkaban, watching the prisoners. Trust me, I'm safe."

I smiled and decided to believe him. We sat down together on a stump of a giant tree.

"So, what is happening in Hogwarts now?" Sirius asked.

"Well I'm sure Harry has told you about Dumbledore's Army," I said.

"Oh yes, of course," Sirius smiled, "I'm glad he's teaching them the real way to defend themselves."

"So far we've done great," I nodded, "Harry's a great teacher."

"The greatest wizards make the best teachers," Sirius agreed.

"Yeah, but something else is going on," I said, "Something really weird. A few days ago Umbridge kept us behind after class and she started asking questions. Not about Dumbledore's Army, but about us personally."

"She doesn't know anything, does she?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," I said, "That's what scares me. She started bringing up stuff from last year, when I threw Malfoy across the room. She noticed that everyone had forgotten about it. When we denied everything she flipped out on us. She knows that we're lying. But I don't know what she thinks we really are. Maybe she _does _know about the real us or maybe she thinks we're some sort of supernatural aliens. I just _don't know_."

Sirius didn't say anything. He just leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand in thought. I could hear him muttering to himself quietly every now and then. I was curious to know what he was thinking about, but luckily he sat back up again and turned to me.

"I honestly think it's quite impossible that she's knows," Sirius said, "Division doesn't know about us and most us don't know about them. So don't worry. You and Rosaline are beyond safe."

I nodded and smiled. I gave him a hug in thanks and then quickly pulled away to check my watch.

"I should get back," I said, "People will start to worry where I've been. And there's a meeting later today."

"Alright," he said, "I'll walk with you."

He quickly went back behind the bushes and soon came back out as a big black dog. I smiled at him and walked back with him by my side. Once we made it to the Black Lake I had to say goodbye. I knelt down in front of Sirius and rubbed his head.

"I'll see you at Christmas," I smiled.

He barked and wagged his tail happily. I got back to my feet and walked back to the castle. I looked back and waved to Sirius, who was still sitting there, watching me leave. I quickly got inside the castle, blissfully greeted by the warmth. I walked to the Ravenclaw common room and said the password to get inside. Once I got in, I heard a very scornful voice.

"Aaralyn White," Rosaline said shrilly, "_Where _have you been?"

"I went for a walk," I said, "Is there a law against that?"

"Oh never mind," she scoffed, "The next D.A. meeting is in 5 minutes. Be ready by then."

I rolled my eyes and went up to my dorm. I slipped off my coat, scarf and gloves and changed my shoes. I then trotted back downstairs and followed Rosaline out the common room entrance.

* * *

><p>"Working hard is important," Harry said, "But there's something else that's even more important: believing in yourself."<p>

Harry was lecturing us as we trained. A few students were practicing Stunning and Disarming Charms. Others were practicing the Floating Charm on their partners. Rosaline and I were on our own, practicing on each other with memory and tracking.

"Look at it this way," Harry continued, "Every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more than we are now - students. If they can do it, why not us?"

We then got together in a group to practice dueling. Everyone spread out to make a long, wide aisle in the middle of the room. First up were Harry and Nigel.

"Well Nigel," Harry said, "Just hit me with your best shot."

Nigel stood there nervously but then aimed his wand at Harry.

"_Stupefy!_" he shouted.

Harry went flying back, as well as Nigel. He popped back up and looked around the room anxiously. Harry, on the other hand, got up rather slower.

"That's very good," he chuckled, "Alright, Ron and Hermione. You guys are next."

"Oh this is going to be good," I whispered to Rosaline.

The aisle was spread back out again and now Ron was on one end while Hermione was on the other. It was quiet for moment.

"One sickle," George whispered to Fred.

"You're on," Fred whispered back.

I laughed to myself. I already knew what would happen.

"_Stupefy!_" Hermione shouted, flicking her wand.

Ron flew back and hit the wall. I looked back at Fred and George. I watched has George handed Fred the money he just won.

"Thank you," Fred smirked.

"Shut up," George muttered.

Ron slowly came our way.

"I meant to do that," he said.

We all nodded at him sarcastically.

"Yeah," I said.

"Right," George agreed.

"It was totally intentional," Ron muttered.

I only laughed and shook my head.

"What's so funny?" George asked.

"Nothing," I giggled, "Just that Ron got his ass kicked and you lost the bet."

"That's not funny," he muttered.

"Yes it is," I laughed.

"Shut up," George rolled his eyes.

"Make me," I said.

He smirked and then pulled closer and kissed me on the lips passionately. As he pulled away I felt quite dizzy. I smiled and kissed him back.

"Aaralyn," Harry interrupted us, "Kiss your boyfriend on your _own time_."

I smirked and playfully rolled my eyes.

"Fine," I sighed.

"Aaralyn you're up," Harry said, "You're going against Dean."

I went to the end of the aisle as Dean went to the other end. I didn't have my wand with me. Dean wasn't exactly sure if he should attack me. He looked at Harry and then looked at me.

"Come on," I groaned, "Go already."

Dean shrugged and then aimed his wand at me.

"_Stupefy!_" he said.

I felt like a giant push was sent to me, making me fly back and hit the wall. I quickly got up and brushed myself off.

"Do you mind if we go again?" I asked Harry. He looked at me curiously and then finally nodded.

Dean was confused with what was going on. But he went along with it anyway.

"_Stupefy!_" he repeated.

Instead of me falling back like before, I put my hands up and created a shield, making the spell bounce off and hit Dean instead. He flew back and hit the wall. He looked up at me amazed, several people gasped and stood there wide-eyed. All of the girls then came swarming at me with questions.

"That was so cool what you just did!" Pavarti squealed.

"I wish I could do that!" Ginny said.

"Did you see Dean just fly back like that?" Padma giggled.

"I thought you'd probably fall back again," Cho said.

"It was rather impressive, wasn't it?" Luna said dreamily.

I just laughed and nodded. A couple of the guys were standing near by Dean, giving him disappointed looks. They all then looked at me, shocked and surprised. I smirked and walked out of the crowd of girls. I walked up to Dean, who slowly paced farther away from me.

"I won't bite," I scoffed.

"How…how did you do that?" he asked.

"It's my powers," I shrugged.

"I thought you levitated objects," he said.

"Yeah well that's a part of being a Mover," I said, "But I'm not a Mover, I'm a Keeper; which means I do everything."

"Everything?" Neville gasped.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"So you can see the future, too?" Seamus asked.

"Yeah," I said, "And heal wounds, erase memories and such."

"Could you show us?" Dean asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not," I shrugged, "What do you want to see?"

"Could you tell me what will happen if I asked out Ginny Weasley?" Dean asked.

I stared at him wide-eyed for a moment but then closed my eyes and thought about what he said. I saw them being together, but it wasn't until next year. I'm guessing Ginny was still crushing on Harry at the moment. I then reopened my eyes.

"I'd say wait until the end of the year," I said, "Then it will be a yes."

I then walked back to Rosaline, who was with Hermione, Ron and Harry.

"That was quite a stunt you pulled," Rosaline smirked.

"Not like we've seen it before," Harry said.

"But it was funnier with Malfoy," Ron chuckled.

We all laughed in agreement. It was then the end of the lesson, meaning we had to go back to our common rooms. As I walked back to the Ravenclaw common room with Rosaline I thought about what Sirius said. He was right; I had nothing to worry about. Umbridge didn't even know Division existed.

3rd person POV (Somewhere in London)

Dolores Umbridge walked quickly down the sidewalk, her pink heels clicking furiously. Her bold, pink lips were in a thin line and her gloved hands were clutched tightly to her pink purse. Muggles that past by her glanced curiously at her all-pink outfit, which definitely made her stand out on the crowded streets of London.

It was very late at night, probably close to midnight. The winter air nipped bitterly at those walking outside, like Dolores. But she had to walk to her destination; otherwise she'd give away the hideout.

She finally reached an abandoned building, surround by an old fence. The entrance was locked as always. Dolores pressed down on the buttons of the voice box attached to the front gate.

"Dolores Umbridge," her high-girlish voice spoke into it. She waited for a moment and then a large buzzing noise called out, unlocking the gate. She gracefully pulled back the gate and shuffled into the building.

From the outside it looked like it was a rundown factory, but it was secretly used every day by a large group of people no one knew about. Dolores had joined them earlier in the year. She was on her way to the weekly meeting. Her heels continued to click against the tile of the dirty, empty hallway. The fluorescent light flickered dully, making a long buzzing noise. She reached the end of the hall, faced the last door on the left, opened up her purse, pulled out a pink handkerchief, placed it on the door knob and turned it to open (Dolores was never one for filth). She pranced and sat down at seat with others at the long table.

At the end of the table sat a bald, dark man; dark clothes, dark eyes, dark skin. He was the leader of the group. For you see, this group wasn't a normal group. They were called Division, and they current mission was to bring in all people with psychic intelligence, like themselves. They weren't the people in Dolores Umbridge's world, which were witches and wizards and magical creates; they were Muggles but with very special powers.

"What is our current amount of soldiers?" the dark man asked.

"9, 450," said the man to his left.

The dark man nodded, pleased at the progress. But he was still sadly disappointed, because his current desire was for someone to bring the ultimate weapon; the Keeper. But that was where Dolores stepped in. She let out a soft cough, "_Hem hem_," disrupting the meeting.

"Sir," she said sweetly, "I believe I have some information for you."

"Yes?" the dark man asked for her to continue.

Dolores opened her purse and pulled out two photographs; each one holding the picture of a 15-year-old girl. She handed them to the dark man and smiled deviously.

"I believe you know these two girls, don't you?" she said.

The dark looked at the pictures and scowled.

"Yes I know these girls," he said, "They are Rosaline Moriali and Aaralyn White. Why do you ask?"

"I also know that you've been…_dying _to get your hands on them," Dolores smiled, "Especially Miss White."

"Yes," the dark man said.

"You want them?" Dolores asked, "I can bring them to you."


	27. Coming Home

**A/N: I originally wrote half of this at 12:30 in the morning; I would have finished it, but I was really tired. So anyways, this is just a filler, nothing important. But it is the beginning of the Christmas chapters! Yay! Christmas in July! Thanks to summer and muentiger for reviewing! What the hell happened to im-the-doctor? R&R!**

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><p>I could see a dark hallway, with dark, shiny tiles that almost reflected images like a mirror. A giant door was at the end of the hallway. Suddenly a very large snake slithered down the hall, towards the door. The scene then changed to a dark room. A man was walking down an aisle with his wand in his hand. A hissing sound echoed in the quiet room, making the man turn around. It was Mr. Weasley. The scene changed again, and Mr. Weasley was now on the ground, wincing and covered in blood. The snake from before hissed loudly and slithered passed Mr. Weasley; the snake had attacked him.<p>

I shot up from bed, drenched in cold sweat. It wasn't a dream that I had, it was a vision. Mr. Weasley had been attacked. I quickly grabbed my robe and ran out of the dormitory. I slipped out of the common room entrance and quickly made my way to Dumbledore's office.

I said the password, making the statue move out of the way. I slipped through and made my way to Dumbledore's door. I knocked repeatedly and anxiously. The door quickly opened and I rushed in.

"Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Wea –" I stopped when I realized that I wasn't alone.

Professor McGonagall, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George and Ron were also there besides Dumbledore. Harry was covered in sweat and quietly panting.

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked.

"Miss White, what are you doing out of bed?" McGonagall asked.

"I had to tell Dumbledore something," I said, "It's urgent."

"One moment," Dumbledore said.

He then turned to one of the paintings that were hanging on his wall.

"Phineas!" he said, "You must go to your portrait at Grimmauld Place. Tell them that Arthur Weasley is gravely injured and his children will be arriving there soon, by Portkey."

My eyes widened, my mouth slightly opened.

"How did you know about Mr. Weasley?" I asked.

"Harry had a dream about his attack," Dumbledore said, "I suppose you did as well?"

I nodded, looking at Harry shocked.

"They got him, Albus," said one of the paintings, "It was close but they think he'll make it. Once more the Dark Lord failed to acquire it."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Dumbledore sighed in relief, "Next we need to –"

"_Look at me!_" Harry shouted, enraged.

I was slightly taken back by his sudden outburst. Dumbledore finally looked at him. Harry was now panting heavily and looked vaguely frightened.

"What's happening to me?" he then asked in a faint voice.

It was quiet, almost too quiet for me to handle. Professor Snape then slowly entered the office.

"You wished to see me, Headmaster?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh Severus," Dumbledore said, "I'm afraid we can't wait. Not even till the morning. Otherwise we'll all be vulnerable."

Dumbledore then turned to McGonagall.

"Minerva, could you please escort Miss White back to her dorm?" he asked.

McGonagall nodded and then lightly took my arm and guided me back to the Ravenclaw common room. I didn't speak at all to her, and she didn't look like she wanted to talk to me. Once we came to the common room entrance, she walked away, not saying a word. I muttered the password and then slipped back in quietly. I slowly made my way back up to the dorm and slid under the covers. I was a little scared to go back to sleep after what happened. All I could think about was the fear in Mr. Weasley's eyes when he was attacked; and that scared me the most.

* * *

><p>Ginny, Fred, George and Ron came back the next day, but they were quite glum from visiting their dad. Luckily they cheered back up from being around friends.<p>

It was the end of another lesson. Harry quickly made an announcement before we had to leave to our common rooms.

"Well," Harry said, "That's it for this lesson and we're not going to be meeting again until after the holidays."

Several people groaned in disappointment. Everyone seemed to enjoy Harry teaching them.

"So just keep practicing on your own as best you can and well done everyone!" Harry said, "Great, great work."

Everyone slowly started to leave the Room of Requirement. I stayed behind to wait for George, who was, at the moment, talking to Harry with Fred.

"We've been thinking Harry," George said, "We could always slip some Puking Pastilles in Umbridge's tea."

"Or Fever Fudge," Fred said excitedly, "They give you these massive puss balls right on your –"

"That sounds great," Harry interrupted, "But could you excuse me for a moment?"

Harry walked pass them, leaving them slightly confused. As we walked out, I glanced back to see Harry with Cho.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Fred asked.

"No idea," George shrugged.

I laughed and shook my head in amazement.

"What's so funny?" Fred asked.

"You guys have _no idea _what's going, do you?" I giggled.

"What?" George asked obliviously.

"Wow," I said, stretching out the 'o.'

"_What?_" Fred and George asked in unison.

"Harry wanted to be alone…with Cho," I said.

Fred and George looked at each other for a moment, confused. Then a spark of realization flickered in their eyes and they nodded.

"Oh," George smiled.

"It took you _that _long?" I asked, "Wow, you guys are oblivious."

"Sod off," Fred scoffed.

I playfully rolled my eyes and then kissed George's cheek before I went to the Ravenclaw common room. Tomorrow I would be on a train back home; back to the partially dirty home that I was used to, back to my only family. I actually started to miss the scowls and grunts I got from Kreacher, the house-elf. And I was glad to finally get away from Umbridge and all of the damage she had done to Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>I shared a compartment on the train with Rosaline, Harry, Ron and Hermione. We were all excited and glad to come back home to our families; mostly because Umbridge was practically torturing us at school.<p>

The train pulled up at Platform 9 and ¾. I quickly rushed out, and found Lupin waiting for us. Rosaline and I grabbed our trunks and made our way over to him.

"Hello Aaralyn, Rosaline," Lupin smiled.

"Hi," Rosaline said.

"Are you two ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, "Just wait one moment."

I dropped my things and ran over to the Weasleys. I quickly said hello to Mrs. Weasley and then went to George's side.

"I'll see you on Christmas," I smiled.

"It feels like forever from now," George groaned sadly.

I giggled and kissed him sweetly. He immediately kissed back. I pulled away and then hugged him goodbye. I then walked back to Lupin and Rosaline.

"Now I'm ready to go," I said, picking up my trunk.

We went through the platform entrance, now appearing between Platforms 9 and 10. Lupin had a car for us and drove to 12 Grimmauld Place. I smiled as we finally made it. We stood on the sidewalk, in between the houses marked as 11 and 13. Then house number 12 slowly appeared in front of us, pushing 11 and 13 aside. I quickly made my way to the door and opened it.

The hallway was still dark and filthy, just the way we left it before. No matter how many times you tried to clean this place, it still somehow remained dirty. It was slightly cleaner but it didn't make much of a difference. I set down my trunk and then searched the house for Sirius.

I soon found him in the dining room, reading the _Daily Prophet_. He lowered it, looked up at me and smiled. He got up from his chair and walked over to me, giving me a warm, welcoming hug.

"Welcome home," he said.

He then pulled away and turned to Lupin.

"Thank you for bringing them, Remus," he said.

"Not a problem," Lupin smiled, "I must go now. Goodbye."

"Bye, Lupin," I called.

He shut the door behind him, leaving me, Rosaline and Sirius to ourselves.

"I'll help you put your things away," Sirius offered.

He took my trunk and I followed him to my room, with Rosaline dragging her trunk behind us. Rosaline went to her room and I took my trunk from Sirius and put it in my room. I sat down on my bed and sighed deeply.

"Does it feel good to be home?" Sirius asked.

"Definitely," I nodded, "Hogwarts isn't the same with that…_toad-face_ taking over the school."

Sirius chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Well I leave you to unpack," he said as he walked away.

I unlocked my trunk and put away all of my things, only leaving my school books in the trunk. I finished unpacking very quickly, leaving me with nothing else to do. So I did what I usually did; looked around the house.

I walked back down the stairs. Once I reached the hall, I saw Kreacher lazily dusting.

"Hello Kreacher," I said politely.

He didn't say anything back. He only muttered something along the lines of 'disgrace to the family' and 'filthy half-blood.' I didn't mind that he insulted me; I knew that he was kind of a nutcase.

I continued to walk down the hall. Suddenly I tripped over the umbrella stand, and held onto one of the paintings for support. The picture was covered by a curtain; but from me grasping onto it, it was pulled back. It revealed an older woman, who looked rather repulsive. She was drooling, her skin was yellowing and her eyes were rolled back.

"_FILTHY HALF-BLOOD!_" she screeched, "_SCUM! FILTH! IN MY HOUSE! A DISGRACE, YOU ARE! GODDAMN DISGRACE!_"

Sirius then came running down the hall.

"Shut up, you old hag!" he shouted at the painting, "Shut up!"

"_SCUM! SCUM!_" she continued to yell shrilly.

"Shut _up_!" Sirius shouted, shutting the curtain.

He sighed in relief that she finally stopped. She was now just moaning and groaning.

"Who _was _that?" I asked.

"You're grandmother," Sirius said, scowling at the painting.

My jaw dropped as my eyes grew into saucers. That was my _grandmother_? That god-awful woman who insulted me terribly was my grandmother?

"That…that was…" was all I managed to say. I was practically speechless.

"Yeah, she's not exactly friendly," Sirius said.

"I noticed," I said.

Sirius only nodded and then left the hall. I cautiously walked away from the painting, hoping that my…._grandmother _wouldn't make another sudden outburst. I walked back up the stairs, towards my room. The piece of parchment with '_Regulus Arcturus Black_' written on it was still on the front of the door. It suddenly became odd to me; I was staying in the room that once belonged to my dad, who I never met.

I always wondered what he would be like; his hair color, if his eyes sparkled when he smiled, what his laugh sounded like. I went from not knowing about my family at all, to living in the house my dad grew up in. I smiled to myself, thinking about how lucky I was; even if my family members were insane (not everyone, just my grandma).


	28. Christmas Eve

**A/N: HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! WOO-HOO! FIREWORKS! Anyways, I would have updated sooner, but Fanfiction was being really weird I wouldn't let me update :(. Boo! But I got to update today, so yay!**

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><p>I woke up with the hugest grin plastered on my face. Today the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry were coming over and staying for the rest of the holiday. I jumped out of my bed and quickly cleaned everything. I hadn't seen George since the train station, and I missed him dearly. I was anxious to see him, and whenever I was anxious I had a nervous habit of cleaning things.<p>

I waited for what seemed like hours for them to arrive. I kept pacing around the house anxiously, until I finally heard a loud crack, making me smile brightly. I ran to the down the stairs to find Fred and George with their suitcases in their hands. They each shook Sirius's hand hello. Then George glanced at me and smiled. I quickly walked over and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you," I whispered in his ear.

"I missed you, too," he whispered back.

I pulled back and kissed his cheek, since Sirius was still in the room. I had already gotten the 'P.D.A. lecture' and I didn't need it again. Sirius was now eying George quite oddly, which made him slightly uncomfortable.

"I help you get your things to your room," I offered, breaking the silence.

"No need," Fred smirked.

George and Fred flicked their wands, making their suitcases levitate and float up the stairs.

"Seriously," I rolled my eyes, "Do have to use your wands for everything?"

"We're saving time and energy," George shrugged as we walked up the stairs.

I lightly laughed and opened the door to their room. The suitcases floated in before Fred and George came in. Finally they set the suitcases and put away their wands. Fred plopped down on his bed and sighed in exhaustion.

"Did that actually _tire_ you?" I asked in disbelief.

"Maybe," Fred scoffed.

George chuckled and then took my hand, pulling me out of the room and into the hallway. As soon as he shut the door, he pressed his lips against mine. I could taste the hunger and longing in the kiss. He tightly held me against him and I placed my hands on his chest. Soon my lungs started to ache for oxygen. I pulled away breathless and rested my head on George's shoulder.

"You can't imagine how long I've waited to do that," George said.

"Oh, I can imagine," I giggled.

I could feel his laughter erupt in chest as he continued to hold me. I smiled and looked into his, watching them sparkle happily.

"I love you so much Aaralyn," he smiled.

"I love you too," I said as I brought my lips closer to him.

Suddenly we heard the door open and close and the sound of new voices downstairs.

"I guess everyone else is here," I sighed.

We pulled away from each other and walked down the stairs, hand in hand. I gave everyone a hug hello and helped out with suitcases and such. Once everyone was all settled, I joined Hermione and Ginny in their room with Rosaline.

"So how has your holiday been so far?" I asked them.

"Pretty good," Hermione nodded, "My parents and I had an early Christmas since I was going to be here."

"I got to visit my dad yesterday," Ginny weakly smiled.

"Will he be here for Christmas?" Rosaline asked.

"Definitely," Ginny said, "He wouldn't miss Mum's cooking for the world."

"So George was pretty anxious to get here," Hermione giggled.

"Oh yeah," Ginny smiled, "He was packed before anyone else. He seemed pretty jittery, too."

We all then laughed.

"George is such a dork," I giggled.

"Oh don't go crossing that line," Rosaline said, "You were so anxious you started _cleaning _everything in the house."

My cheeks quickly flushed a light pink color as Hermione and Ginny giggled madly.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"I think it's cute," Hermione smiled, "You two are mad for each other."

"You guys are adorable together," Ginny said, "And my family loves you, so that's a good thing."

"Great," Rosaline sighed, "Pretty soon Mrs. Weasley will expect Aaralyn and George to get married and have a hundred kids."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, but Hermione and Ginny laughed.

"What about you and Ron, Hermione?" I asked.

Suddenly they all went silent, and were gazing at Hermione. She lightly blushed and looked away.

"Nothing's going on with me and Ron," she muttered.

"Oh come on," Ginny said, "You two are bound to be together in the end; no matter how many times you two bicker."

"Well what about you and your mad crush on Harry?" Hermione asked.

Ginny's face was slightly serious, but she didn't react as much.

"I actually like someone else," she said.

Hermione's eyes widened and Rosaline's jaw dropped. I just smirked, since I knew it was going to happen.

"Let me guess," I said, "It's Dean Thomas."

Now everyone was staring at me in amazement; except for Rosaline, who wasn't surprised I knew. Ginny blushed and looked down at her hands.

"How did you know?" she muttered.

"I've seen it," I said, "... And Dean asked me about you."

Ginny quickly looked up shocked and with a little sparkle in her eyes.

"He did?" she gasped.

"Yeah, and don't be surprised if he asks you out."

"Girls!" Molly called from downstairs, "Dinner's ready!"

We all rose from our seats and went downstairs to join everyone else for dinner.

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><p>Today was Christmas Eve. Molly had already put up a few decorations to light up the house and was now preparing for the Christmas dinner, which wasn't until tomorrow. But Molly liked to prepare so I guess she liked to take her time with things. I never had a real Christmas before; Nick and Cassie did send me and Rosaline presents last year, but I never had a real Christmas, with family and friends. It was nice.<p>

The Weasleys went to visit Mr. Weasley at St. Mungo's and didn't return until dinner. Then it was soon time to go to bed, but I wasn't tired, so I stayed in the study, reading a very large book. It was probably around 11:30 when I heard someone come back down the stairs. Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw a head of flaming red hair poke into the room. I looked up to see George gazing at me.

"You're still awake," he said.

"Obviously," I said.

George sat down next to me, glancing at the pages of the book I was reading.

"What book is this?" he asked.

"_War and Peace_," I said.

"It's humungous," he said, "Only Hermione would read something this huge."

"I think she already read it," I said. "_Twice_, I believe."

"Blimey," he muttered.

"Yeah, it's pretty big," I sighed, "But it helps me get through the night."

"You're odd," he chuckled, "But that's one of the reasons why I love you."

I smiled and kissed him gently. George pulled away and looked at his watch. It was past midnight, which meant it was Christmas morning.

"Merry Christmas," he smiled.

"Merry Christmas, George," I said, kissing him again.

"I guess I could give you your gift now," he shrugged.

"You didn't have to give me a gift," I said.

"I knew you'd say that," he chuckled.

He then pulled out a small, blue velvet box, wrapped in a white ribbon. I hesitated, and George quickly noticed.

"Would you take it already?" he asked.

I giggled and took the box from his grasp. I pulled of the ribbon and slowly opened the box. I gasped when I saw what was inside; a silver necklace with a small sapphire hanging on the end.

"Oh my God," I whispered, "George, you really shouldn't have."

"I wanted to," he smiled.

I smiled and kissed him passionately.

"Thank you," I said, "I guess I should give you yours now."

I lifted up a bag and handed it to him. He pulled out a small book.

"_Alice in Wonderland_," he read the cover.

"There's a character in the book that reminds me of you," I said, "So I thought you'd might like it."

"I can't wait to read it," he said and then kissed my cheek, "Thanks."

I smiled and then yawned.

"I guess you should go to bed now," George chuckled.

I lazily nodded and closed my book, setting it on the desk. George pulled me up from the chair and wrapped his arms around my waist. He then guided me back to my room. Once we got my door, he kissed me once more on the lips.

"Goodnight," he whispered against my lips.

"Goodnight," I replied, smiling bigger than ever.

I then slipped away and went into my room, gladly getting under my covers and drifting into a pleasant sleep.


	29. Christmas and Returning to Hogwarts

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I would have written sooner but my mom made me do all of this stuff and now my shoulder in serious pain! So I practically suffered while writing this chapter. And I apologize ahead of time if this chapter is boring and short. But I'm stretching out the events so that this story can last until like...70 chapters! Hahahaha, anyways thank you muentiger and summer for reviewing. Where the bloody hell is im-the-doctor? Come back! R&R!**

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><p>While Molly was on her way to St. Mungo's, Hermione and I were finishing up the cooking for her. I glanced over the steaming pot of onion soup and added a dash of salt. I placed the lid back onto the pot and then checked on the turkey roasting in the oven. Hermione worked rapidly on stirring the fudge while checking the bread every 5 minutes. I honestly thought that cooking would be a piece of cake, but it was actually pretty difficult.<p>

I collapsed on a giant chair and sighed deeply. I lightly smiled and started to close my eyes in exhaustion. Suddenly a very loud ding of a bell interrupted my rest. I groaned and dragged myself back to the kitchen.

Luckily Molly came back shortly and let Hermione and I free from our kitchen duties. We gladly hurried out and joined Ginny and Rosaline in the living room. Ginny was anxiously staring at the grandfather clock that was sitting on the opposite side of the room. We weren't going to open presents until after dinner, and she was desperate to open hers.

But her wish was soon granted when Molly called us to the dining room to eat. Ginny shot up from her seat and zoomed to the dining room. I quietly laughed and took my time to get to my spot at the table. I sat down in between George and Hermione. Ron already was filling his plate with every dish and digging in like the pig he was. It sickened me, but not too much to not eat my own food.

The meal was soon over, and then we all helped cleared the table while Molly left the room.

"Daddy's back!" Molly cheered as she brought Mr. Weasley into the room.

He was in better shape; even though his head was still in bandages and he was currently in a wheelchair. But he still smiled brightly as if nothing ever happened.

"Now sit down everybody!" Molly said, "Sit down! Now presents."

Everyone sat back down and Molly handed them their gifts, one by one. Once she got to Fred and George, she hesitated. She kept switching the presents in her hands, not knowing which one belonged to which. But then she sighed and just handed it to them, telling them they could swap if they wanted to. Then she handed me and Rosaline each a present. I wasn't exactly expecting a gift from Molly; I thought being with Weasleys for Christmas was good enough.

I opened the gift, revealing a black and white scarf with tiny blue birds on it; obviously symbolizing Ravenclaw. Rosaline also got a scarf, but it was dark purple and black with white stars on it. She smiled as she wrapped it around her neck, as did I.

"Thank you, Molly," I said.

"Oh, you're welcome, dear," Molly smiled.

I looked over at Ron's gift, noticing he got a ridiculous vest with a red 'r' sewn into it. I held back a giggle and just shook my head. Then I saw Mr. Weasley raise his glass.

"A toast, to Mister Harry Potter," he said, "Without whom, I would not be here. Harry."

"To Harry," we all said as we raised our glasses.

Harry lightly smiled, but I knew that he was really suffering on the inside. The poor boy hadn't been himself lately. Voldemort was attacking his mind almost every day, and now he just seemed so lonely and angry. I felt so sorry, I wanted to help but Harry wouldn't anyone past that thick wall around him.

I tried not to think of something sad, and brought my attention back to everyone else. I decided to focus on Ron's expression on his new vest; disgusted but acting pleased for the sake of the family.

That night had the strangest dream. I knew that most of my dreams ended up being visions, so it was basically a vision; but it was clear. Most things were blurred and unfocused like a bad photograph. It was almost as if I wasn't supposed to see this. I only saw a few clear parts; an explosion, a lab, and then a very dark figure with a scowling look.

Then I sat up from my bed, panting and sweating. I pushed my hair away from my face and collapsed back onto my bed. I stared at the ceiling, counting all of the unique marks and nicks. I soon felt my eyelids grow heavy again and I fell asleep. This time it was deep and dreamless.

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><p>It was the last day of Christmas holiday, before we had to go back to Hogwarts. Molly made us all wake up early, figuring that we would probably be late if we didn't hurry. My things were already packed and I was ready to go. I walked down to the dining room and saw Sirius sitting at the end, sulkily staring at the table. Once we were gone, he would be alone again; with only Kreacher as his company (which was not pleasant company).<p>

"Rosaline and I will be back soon," I told him, making him look up from the spot he was sadly glaring at. "Summer vacation will be here soon."

"I'll be fine," he smiled, but I knew he was lying.

I lightly smiled back and hugged him tightly.

"I'll miss you, too," I said.

"Aaralyn!" Molly called, "Come on, we've got to go!"

"Bye," I said, turning back to Sirius.

He smiled and waved goodbye as we walked out the door. I sighed desolately and dully dragged my feet onto the Knight Bus. I was going to miss Sirius; he was the only family I had. And returning to Hogwarts when Umbridge was _still _there wasn't something to look forward to. I was just waiting for that gargoyle to end up wanting Dumbledore's job.

_Don't say that, Aaralyn, you'll jinx it._

Once we got to the train station, we said our goodbyes and got on. George kissed me goodbye and went to share a compartment with Fred and Lee Jordan. Ginny, Neville and Luna were in a compartment together; leaving me, Rosaline, Harry, Ron and Hermione to ourselves. Hermione had a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ in her hands. On the cover was a picture of very insane-looking woman; she had attractive features, but the psychosis in her eyes made her look frightening. '_Mass Breakout in Azkaban!_' was printed above the picture. Then it made sense; she was a prisoner there. No wonder she looked so crazy. But there was something about her that was oddly familiar.

"Who's the nutter on the cover?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked at the cover and read the article.

"It says she's Bellatrix Lestrange," she said.

"I saw her on the family tree at Sirius's house," Harry said.

"_That's _where I've seen her before," I said, realizing who she was, "She's Sirius's cousin."

"I feel bad for Sirius," Ron muttered.

"Yeah, apparently she's not that great of a family relative," I said sarcastically.

"You know, I saw Neville reading this article," Hermione said, "He looked rather anxious."

"Well it's Neville," Ron said, "The poor lad is afraid of Snape; literally."

Hermione shrugged and continued to read the paper. I sat and watched Ron's owl, Pigwidgeon flutter madly around its cage. Rosaline seemed sort of distant, and was gazing out the window.

"Rosaline, are you okay?" I asked.

She snapped back to reality and looked at me shocked.

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

"You looked sort of out of it," I said, "Anything wrong?"

"No," she answered quickly and then continued to look out the window.

I had a feeling that she was lying, but I decided not to bother her. It was probably nothing anyway.


	30. Caught in the Act

**A/N: Two chapters in one day! Awesome! So this is another short chapter, but it's got some events in it! Gee, I wonder what it could be...Hmmmm...I already know! Duh! But you'll find out soon! So go read! R&R!**

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><p>"Make it a powerful memory," Harry told us, "The happiest you've ever felt. Allow it to fill you up!"<p>

Today's lesson was Patronus Charms. Rosaline and I sat on the sidelines, watching everyone practice. Hermione already got a giddy, silver otter; which was twirling around her happily.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" Ginny yelled.

A beautiful horse neighed loudly as it formed into Ginny's patronus.

"Fantastic, Ginny!" Harry said.

Ginny was actually coming along very well in D.A. meetings. We then watched Luna created a silver bunny rabbit.

"Go on, Neville," Harry said.

"_Expecto Patronum_," Neville said, but only a silver vapor came from his wand.

"I'm trying," Neville pleaded.

Something was clogging up that kid's mind.

"George, you try," Harry said.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" George said, but a silver vapor came out instead.

"Come on, George, you can do it," I cheered on.

George glanced at me and smiled. He hesitated before he decided to try again.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" he repeated, creating a stealth-like fox. I giggled and lightly applauded him. I hurried over to his side and kissed his cheek.

"That's amazing," I said.

"Yeah," George smirked, "You want to know what I was thinking about?"  
>"What?" I asked, growing curious.<p>

"The first time I told you I loved you," he smiled.

I smiled back brightly and kissed him on the lips passionately. The sweet and fiery taste of his lips burned joyfully against mine. I pulled away seconds later and watched his eyes sparkle when they looked into mine.

Suddenly my joy was interrupted by a loud yet muffled sound outside of the Room of Requirement. Slowly, one by one, the patronuses started to disappear. The room shook a little, producing a small hole in one of the walls. Nigel and Harry slowly made their ways to the wall and peered in. Then Harry quickly pulled Nigel away. I immediately knew why; the wall exploded. Clouds of dust and smoke clogged the room, making me cough quietly.

Everything cleared up and revealed Umbridge and her Inquisitorial _Geek_ Squad on the other side of the newly made hole in the wall.

_We're in so much trouble._

"Get them!" she ordered.

Each person grabbed a group of people and dragged them away.

"Mr. Goyle," Umbridge said, "Would take Miss White and Miss Moriali with me, please?"

Goyle smirked and grabbed me and Rosaline's arms roughly, dragged away to wherever the hell Umbridge was taking us. Once we got to her Umbridge's office, she turned to Goyle.

"Thank you, Mr. Goyle," she smiled, "Ten points to Slytherin for the…_kind _hand. I'll take care of them from here."

_Kind hand my ass! He probably left bruises on my arm!_

Goyle walked away, leaving me and Rosaline with the sickeningly pink devil standing in front of us.

"Come with me, please," she said, but not with any kindness in her voice.

But we didn't have a choice; she grabbed our arms and dragged us into her overly pink office. She walked over to her fireplace and threw in a handful of dust. Green flames erupted and then she forced us in. At first I thought we were going to burn, but nothing happened.

"1501 Elizabeth Drive," she shouted and suddenly we were consumed in the green fire. I could feel myself being pulled and tugged all over the place until I felt ground again. We were in another fireplace. Before I could think about exactly where we were, Umbridge dragged us out. I noticed that we were in a large room; it almost looked like a basement. She pulled us up the stairs and then out the door. We came to a dim hallway. The light bulbs in the glass cases on the ceiling continued to flicker and make loud buzzing noises. She dragged us all the way to the end of the hall. She then opened the door and thrust us in. Before we could run out, she shut the door on us. Oddly, she didn't come in the room with us.

I slowly turned around and felt my heart skip several beats. It was a large laboratory with several people in lab coats scurrying all over the place. It was terribly familiar to me. I only prayed to God that it wasn't the place I dreaded most. One of the men turned around and noticed we were here.

"Alert Mr. Carver," he said, "They're here!"

My heart then dropped down to my stomach. Rosaline looked at me with fear in her eyes. Umbridge had taken us to Division.

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><p>Two large, burly men grabbed me and Rosaline and dragged into separate rooms. I was trapped in what looked like an interrogation room. I would have looked around for ways to escape, but I was too busy being mad at Umbridge.<p>

_Why in the name of sweet hell would she do this? How did she know about Division? Did this mean that Division knew about magic and the wizard world? Why would that toad-face join Division? I'm so going to kill that bitch when I get out of here…How _do _I get out of here?_

Suddenly the door opened, revealing someone I hated more than Umbridge and Malfoy combined; Henry Carver. He smirked at me and then sat down at the small table in the middle of the room.

"Sit," he ordered.

"I'm taking orders from _you_," I hissed.

He only chuckled at me.

"I see you haven't changed," he smiled, showing his very white teeth.

"I noticed you're the same, too," I said, "Still an asshole and murderer."

"Aaralyn, you must not hold on to the past," he said.

"You made my life miserable," I said, "You also killed my best friend's parents. You were also going to use me as some weapon in your dream plan, which you _still_ want me for."

"You catch on fast," he chuckled.

I glared at him, wishing that the son of a bitch would burst into flames.

"Come now, Aaralyn," he said, "Why don't you just give up and join us? You must be tired of running and hiding."

"I'd rather die than join Division," I scowled.

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice," Carver snapped.

He angrily got up from his chair and walked to the door.

"Until you've changed your mind," he said, "I'll have Hector…_persuade _you a little to join."

He opened the door wider to let in another man as he went out. Hector was much taller than me, but wasn't a giant, burly man like Hagrid the Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts. He did have muscle though. He glared at me and then smiled evilly.

"You touch me and you'll die," I hissed.

His laughed bounced off the walls of the almost empty room. He then stepped closer to me, dangerously close. I could feel anger and rage build up in me. I brought my hands up and flew him across the room. He got up and brushed himself off as if he tripped. His smirk turned into a scowl. He then lifted me in the air, and flung me against the wall. I felt the pressure still on me, and then he pulled me off the wall and threw me against again; and again and again.

Pain ached through my body as he finally let me go. I weakly got up, but was then pushed back down by Hector's force. I could see the slightly transparent shield that was pressing down on me. Hector brought his fist into the air and then swung it down hard, making hit much more powerful with the shield.

All I remembered was a powerful hit, pain and then blackness surrounding me.

Rosaline's POV

I couldn't believe that Umbridge brought us to Division. How could this even happen to us? I didn't understand how she knew about Division. I couldn't put it together on when she knew about Division, making her know about me and Aaralyn. The timing made no sense.

Before I could put it all together, the door opened. Carver then stepped into the room and smirked widely at me. I only glared in return.

"Hello Rosaline," he said as he sat down across from me.

I didn't respond, I just continued to glare.

"You've been doing some very bad things, you know," he said, "Hiding a wanted person from Division," he then made a tisking noise with his tongue, "You should be ashamed of yourself."

I still didn't say anything.

"Oh, I see," he chuckled, "You're trying the silent treatment. That's definitely mature of you."

I glared deeper into his dark eyes. While I was looking into them, I saw a sudden spark ignite in them.

"What I don't understand," he said, "is why they picked _you_ to hide her. Out of all people, they picked a little weak Shadow. Nick could have been smarter and chosen himself or Cassie. They could have actually protected Aaralyn if she got out of hand or if she was in trouble. But instead they picked you; a second-generation Shadow."

I could feel rage burning in my veins. My hands tightened into fists underneath the table. My knuckles started to turn white with frustration. But Carver only chuckled.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, "Erase my memory so I would forget what I said?"

He laughed at his pathetic joke and then walked out of the room. As soon as the door closed I got up from my chair and kicked the wall angrily. I picked up the chair and then threw it across the room. I madly slammed my fists against the walls until my rage started to fade from exhaustion. I sighed furiously and slid down to the floor, leaning against the wall.

I hated Carver. I hated him Carver more than I hated Umbridge. He killed Nick's dad, and he also killed my parents. He killed them before I had enough time to know them. And for that, I hated him more than anything else in the world. He would always be the most hated _thing _to me.

_Someone get me out of here._


	31. Investigations and Escapes

**A/N: Yay! I have returned from my redneck hometown! And I have a lovely tan from my trip (just saying). But the good news is, my laptop has come back from the dead! Hallelujah! I brought it with me to my dad's so I could write the chapters. But I couldn't post them until now...Anyways, this chapter is pretty massive. Something totally surprising turns up at the end. Hehehehe, I can't tell you. *smiles deviously* R&R!**

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><p><span>(Back at Hogwarts) Hermione's POV<span>

Dumbledore was so close to be taken away to Azkaban, but luckily he escaped. But he also left us with Umbridge, making her our new headmistress. I was sure that he had some idea on how to return; hopefully he would.

Everyone in the D.A. was brought to Umbridge to serve detention. We'd probably be in there for the rest of the school year. Our first detention was today, unfortunately.

I sat down at a desk, seeing a piece of parchment and quill already laid out for me to use. Pretty soon everyone was here and sitting down and Umbridge told us to begin. We were to write lines; _I must not break the rules_. I grabbed the quill and began to write, and almost very soon I could feel a growing pain in my hand. Blood-red ink spilled from the tip of the quill, writing out 'I must not break the rules.' The pain almost became too much for me, so I looked over at my hand and held in a gasp. The words I was writing was carved into my skin. So this is what Harry had to go through, and poor Aaralyn, too.

I looked over to my left to see Harry suffering through writing out the lines. Every now and then he glanced up at Umbridge and gave her a death glare. I then looked around for Aaralyn, but couldn't find her anywhere. Strange enough, I couldn't seem to find Rosaline either. Did they even come for detention? I shrugged off the question glued in my head and continued to write. Sadly, I wrote until my hand was bleeding. I stood up and walked over to Umbridge.

"I believe the message has _sunk in _enough," I said politely, handing her the parchment and quill.

"Hand," she ordered.

I showed her my tortured, bleeding hand and she observed it carefully.

"Yes, I see the lesson has gotten past you," she said, "You may go."

I gladly turned to leave. On my way out, I looked at almost all of the desks to find Aaralyn and Rosaline; but I didn't see them.

_Where could they be?_

I walked to hospital wing, to have Madame Pomfrey bandage my hand. And then I went back to the Great Hall to wait for Harry and Ron. I waited for what seemed like hours for someone to come out. Soon Neville stepped out, wincing as he looked over his hand.

"Neville," I said, "Did you see Rosaline and Aaralyn in there?"  
>"No, I didn't actually," he shook his head and then walked off to the hospital wing.<p>

I sighed and leaned against the wall. Why wouldn't they show up for detention? If they tried to ditch then they'd have extra detention; maybe even with Filch. I shivered a little at the thought and then waited longer. Finally Harry walked out of the Great Hall.

"Harry," I called to him, "By any chance, did you happen to see Aaralyn and Rosaline in there?"

He thought for a moment, looking back at the doors of the Great Hall. He then looked back and shook his head.

"No," he said, "Did they even show up? They'd get extra detention for that, you know."

"Of course I know," I scoffed, "But no one has seen them."

Then Ron came out, glaring madly at the floor.

"Ron," Harry said to get his attention, "Please tell us that you saw Aaralyn and Rosaline in there."

"Sorry," he said, "I didn't. Why?"

"They didn't show up for detention," I said.

"I wish I didn't either," Ron muttered.

"Ron, this is serious," I said, "Where could they be?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "We could ask Luna she's seen them."

Harry nodded in agreement and then waited for Luna or any Ravenclaw to come out. But instead of Luna coming out, Michael Corner did.

"Hey Michael," Ron said, "You know Aaralyn and Rosaline?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "They're in Ravenclaw, aren't they?"

"Yeah, did you see them anywhere?" Harry asked.

"No," he said, "Actually, yesterday, when Umbridge caught us, I didn't see them in the common room. I saw Umbridge take them to her office."

I gasped, and put a hand over my mouth. What did that gargoyle do to them?  
>"Thanks," Ron said coolly and Michael walked away.<p>

"What do you think she did with them?" he then asked us.

"You don't think she..." Harry didn't finish his sentence.

"No," I said, "She couldn't have. She works for the Ministry."

"True, but she's also a real nutter," Ron said, "She made us slice our own hands up."

"But she couldn't actually," I paused, swallowing the lump in my throat, "..._kill_ them. Could she?"

"I don't know," Harry shrugged, "Let's try looking for them."

I nodded and then we went towards the Ravenclaw common room. We luckily made in time to find Luna at the entrance, and she let us in. We didn't see them in the common room, so I went up to the girls' dormitory to find them. I reached the door that led to the fifth years' room. I opened the door, hoping that they would be there, but they weren't.

_Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead._

I ran back down the steps, my heart racing with anxiety.

"They're not there," I said.

"They usually hang out at the Black Lake," Harry suggested.

"Please let them be there," I mumbled.

But they weren't at the Black Lake either. Once we reached their favorite spot underneath the big tree, we didn't find anyone.

"Where else do they hang out?" Ron asked.

"The library," I said.

We all raced back to the castle and went straight to the library. We each checked every aisle and each section of the library, but they weren't there.

"Okay, now I'm starting to get scared," Ron said.

"Oh _now _you are?" I asked sarcastically.

"Don't start," Harry interrupted Ron from starting another argument. "We need to focus on Aaralyn and Rosaline right now. Where else do they hang out?"

"No where else," I said, "These are the only places they could be."

"But why would Umbridge take them to her office?" Ron asked, "Do you think she stuffed them in a closet or something?"

"No," Harry said, "But we could look in there to see if there's anything to find."

"No," I immediately protested, "We can't go snooping in Umbridge's office. We could get expelled!"

"Then we won't be seen," Harry shrugged, "We'll just use my dad's old cloak."

"But what if she's in there?" Ron asked.

"We'll set up a diversion," Harry suggested, "We could get Fred and George to do something for us."

Ron looked at me and then at Harry. He then shrugged and nodded.

"It's worth a shot," he said.

"What?" I quietly shrieked, "You're actually agreeing to this?"

"You're the one who wanted to know if Aaralyn and Rosaline were okay," he said, "So do you want to find out or not?"

He was right, unfortunately. I sighed and nodded. I just hoped that they would show up before we went along with this ridiculous plan.

(Division) Aaralyn's POV

I slowly fluttered my eyes opened, gazing up at the blank, white ceiling above me. I could hear a faint beeping next to me. I turned my head, and saw that I was attached to a heart monitor. I was lying on a bed, hooked up to all of these machines.

"What the hell is this?" I whispered.

"Oh nothing," a vile, sickening voice sneered, "Just running a few tests."

I looked up and saw Carver smirking down at me.

"If you stick _one _needle in me, I'll jump from this bed and choke you to death," I spat.

Carver didn't react. He only smirked and then walked away. Moments later a man in a white came towards me, pushing a small, metal cart. It was brought over to the side of my bed. I could see almost twenty different syringes with all different colored drugs and poisons that he would soon inject into me. They were going to test me until I died of an overdose. I tried to get up but something was pulling me back; I was strapped to the bed. I should have known, otherwise it would have been to easy for me to escape.

He lifted the first syringe; it was filled with a clear liquid. He eyed me oddly and then cautiously made his way over to my arm. He quietly sighed in relief and brought the tip of needle to my arm. Once the cold metal touched my skin, I lifted my hand and threw the guy across the room. The cart fell over and spilled everything on the floor. I quickly focused on the straps on my body. I struggled to bring my hand up, palm facing the first strap. But soon it got it to unbuckle. I slipped my arms out and then unbuckled the second strap, letting my hips loose. I finally unbuckled the last strap, freeing my legs, and sprung from my bed. I was almost at the door, when it opened in front of me. Carver stood on the other side, glaring at me.

"Trying to run away, I see," he said.

I glared in return.

"I should have knocked you out during the tests," he said, shaking his head.

"Well I guess this proves you're too stupid to think of that in the first place," I shrugged.

I brought my hands up in front of me and flung him backwards, making him hit wall very hard. I looked over him, and saw that he was luckily knocked out. I then ran down the hall, looking for the door to Rosaline's room. But there were no windows for me to look in. And if I opened a random door, I could run into to trouble (such as Hector).

I walked quickly around the corner and continued to search. I still didn't find it. There were only a bunch mini-labs and chemistry rooms. I didn't remember this from when we were first brought in.

"Looking for something?" I heard someone ask.

I turned around startled, and saw the one person that I was wishing _not _to see; Hector. He glared at me and crossed his arms around his chest tightly.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath.

His scowl changed into an evil smirk, and then he slowly walked up to me.

_Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me._

(Hogwarts) George's POV

Hermione had told me that Rosaline and Aaralyn were missing. Once I heard this, my heart sank deeply. I wanted to know more about where Aaralyn was, or where she could be, but Hermione only told me what she knew. I was glad to torment Umbridge when Fred and I were offered to help. I'd like to push that pink toad off the Astronomy Tower for what she did to Aaralyn; whatever that was.

Fred held onto the rope very tightly, waiting anxiously for the Slytherins to walk by.

"You ready, George?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll every be, Fred," I shrugged, smirking.

The bell rang and the big group of Slytherins poured into the hall. We waited for them to get close enough, and once they did, Fred let go of the rope. Quickly, buckets of thick, white powder poured onto them. We heard several rough coughs as the powder thickened into clouds around them. But as it cleared, we then heard screaming. Now those rotten Slytherins were covered in giant red and gold spots. Fred and I laughed and quickly ran to the Gryffindor common room before Umbridge or Filch got there.

Any moment now, Harry, Hermione and Ron would be in Umbridge's office and find a way to get Aaralyn and Rosaline back. I missed Aaralyn terribly. I remembered every bit of time I spent with her yesterday, to the very last words I said to her. I had produced a full patronus and it was all because of her. The memory of me telling her I loved her just filled me up and made me smile. I needed her to come back, and very soon.

I honestly never wanted to loose her again. I knew Aaralyn liked taking risks and can't help herself from being a bloody hero, but that's was one of the many things that I loved about her. But I can't stand to see her get hurt. I just hope she comes back in one piece.

Immediately an idea came to my mind.

"Hey Fred," I said.

"What?" he asked.

"What would you think if Aaralyn stayed with us in the flat above the shop?" I asked.

Fred looked at me with wide eyes, but I could tell he wasn't surprised I asked that. He smirked and lightly chuckled.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, I'm predictable," I said, "So what do you think?"

"Honestly," he shrugged, "I'm fine with it. Besides, we need someone to run the cash register."

"I don't know if I should take that as an insult or a compliment," I said, "But either way, at least you're fine with it."

"I'm just mentioning the advantage to it," he said, "I mean, sure; why not? Just don't have _too _much fun with her."

I scowled at him as he laughed quite loudly. I rolled my eyes and punched his shoulder. I then chuckled and sat down on the couch once we came into the common room. I just sat there, looking into the fire in thought. The idea of Aaralyn actually living with me...wow. I loved the idea; I absolutely loved it. I just had to ask her first.

(Division) Rosaline's POV

I was still in that small, empty room. I didn't sleep at all; mostly because I could feel Carver's black eyes just watching my every move. And probably any second now he would come in here and make my life even more miserable. I didn't need that.

Just like I predicted, the door opened. But it wasn't Carver who came in. Instead it was a younger looking man. He had wavy brown hair, leaner figure and looked a little looser than Carver; I figured that since he wasn't wearing a jacket and had the top two buttons of his shirt undone and his sleeves rolled up. His green eyes were what caught my eye first. Something about him told me I knew him from somewhere.

"Hey Rosie," he smiled.

At that moment, I knew who he was. The sound of his voice, the way he smiled, the nickname, it all popped into my mind.

"Blaine," I said.

He sat down across from me, looking into my tired eyes. I awkwardly looked away, pretending to be occupied by the reflection of the flickering light on the mirrored window.

"How've you been?" he asked.

"Fine," I said dully.

There was another long pause.

"Aren't you going to ask how I've been?" he then asked.

"No," I said, still not looking at him, "Because I don't give a rat's ass."

"Oh," he said, acting fake hurt, "That's pretty harsh, Rosie."

"Don't call me that," I snapped.

"I see you kept your hair blue," he said.

"Yeah, so what?" I asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged, "It's just I always liked it that way."

I rolled my eyes and finally looked at him.

"Cut the shit, Blaine," I said.

He looked slightly taken back by my sudden, sharp comment.

"I know why you're here," I said, "Don't try to sweet talk your way into anything. It's growing old."

"You know me too well," he chuckled.

"Yeah," I said, "_Way _too well."

"Oh come on, Rosi-" he stopped when I started to glare at him, "Rosaline, just give up and join. It's the easy way out of this mess. You can't just keep cleaning up after Ari. She's going to end getting herself killed, and you'll die along with her."

"I'll take that over joining this hell-hole _any day_," I hissed.

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

"All right," he said.

"Fine," I said.

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

"All right."

"Fine."

"Shut up," I finally snapped.

He laughed and then shook his head in amusement. I only rolled my eyes and looked away from him. His laugh soon faded away, and I could now feel his eyes burning into me.

"Come on, Rosie," he begged, "Don't hold this grudge against me forever. You know you still love me."

I looked up at him and glared deeply into his glowing green eyes.

"I don't love you," I hissed, "I never did."

He smirked and then got up from his chair. He reached his arm out towards the door and opened it. Before he walked out, he turned to me.

"You sure?" he asked, "Because I could have sworn you did once."

I only glared in return, not saying a word. He shrugged.

"Maybe I was wrong," he said and then shut the door behind him as he left.

As soon as the door shut completely, I dropped my head on the table.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered. I got back up and started to pace around the room, "What an asshole. That cocky bastard! He thinks he can just waltz in here, and everything's back to normal. Well hell no, it's not!"

I balled my hands into fists furiously and kicked the wall. I then repeatedly banged my fists against it until my knuckles ached in pain.

_Why doesn't someone get me the hell out of here?_

Suddenly I felt the heat rising and saw a red, fiery light erupt behind me. I turned around, seeing a giant fireball. But flames immediately died away, show an older man with a long white beard and a strange attire; light blue robes, covered in silver stars.

"Dumbledore?" I asked, shocked.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: HAHAHA! Cliffhanger! Oooh I bet you didn't see that coming. I'm talking about Blaine if you didn't get it already. Well it's gonna be a while before you find out who this "Blaine" character really is. I'm gonna post the next chapter really soon. I mean as soon as this one is posted, I'm posting the next one (that's how soon it will be).**


	32. Sneaking Out

**A/N: First I would like to thank my 2 NEW REVIEWERS, IAmInWonderland and Watcher, for reviewing my story! I feel all bubbly inside! Yay! You guys get virtual hugs! As for the story, get ready for some action. R&R!**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

"Dumbledore?" I asked, shocked.

I couldn't believe it. Dumbledore was standing right in front of me. How is this even possible? Am I dreaming?

"Yes, Rosaline," he smiled, "It is me."

"B-but...how..." I stuttered out.

"I assume you'll be with speech quite soon, but right now we must find Aaralyn," he said.

He pulled out his wand, flicked it at the door and it swung open quietly. He gently took my arm and took me out of the room. We rushed down the hall and swiftly turned on the corners. Dumbledore didn't even bother to think on which way to go; it was as if he already knew. But it _was _Dumbledore we were talking about, so anything's possible.

We came to a door, which Dumbledore didn't hesitate to open. It revealed another set of rooms with a giant hallway in the middle. Dumbledore continued to guide me through the building quietly. Were we ever going to find Aaralyn?

My question was soon answered when I saw a big, burly man stand over an unconscious, beaten body. I gasped silently when I noticed it was Aaralyn. What the hell did he _do _to her? I didn't know what happened next, but I just remembered charging at him, wrapped my arms tightly around his giant neck. I squeezed with all of my might, but he didn't seem to struggle. But I didn't want to choke him. I was so tempted to do it, but my good side kept telling me to not get carried away. I looked down at Aaralyn again, and the anger boiled in me. I brought my hands to each side of his head and pressed powerfully.

At that moment his muscles started to loosen and he started shaking furiously. He collapsed to the ground, still shaking as I kept my hands on his temples. Several images were flashing in my head; his memories. I then got to the point where I saw him coming in to work at the beginning of this week; that was when I let go. As I did, I felt my legs weaken slightly, but I used all the strength I had to stay up. I then hurried over to Aaralyn's side and gently brought her up, putting one arm around my neck.

Dumbledore casually came over to my side and brought his arm over me and Aaralyn.

"Hold on tight and think of home," he said.

Home? I didn't have a home. But Aaralyn did, and that was at 12 Grimmauld Place, with Sirius. It was almost home to me, but I'd accept it anyway. Suddenly saw a group of people come rushing down the hall, with Carver in the lead. I immediately gripped onto Dumbledore and thought of Grimmauld over and over again in my head. I heard a strange call of a bird fly over us and then we were consumed in flames. But right before all of Division disappeared, I saw a pair of powerfully green eyes staring at me.

* * *

><p>We appeared in the small hallway of Sirius's home. Immediately I heard the painting of Sirius's mother scream dreaded things at us as we walked by.<p>

"Shut up, you bloody hag!" Sirius yelled from upstairs.

"Sirius," Dumbledore said, "That is no way to talk to your mother."

We heard the quick steps of Sirius running down the stairs. He was pretty shocked to see Dumbledore here.

"Professor Dumbledore," he said, weakly smiling, "Good day."

"Indeed it was," Dumbeldore said, "Until I happened to stumble on a bit of...trouble."

He nodded towards me, who was still holding the unconscious Aaralyn in my arms. Sirius's eyes widened and hurried quickly to us.

"Rosaline," he said, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said.

He looked down at Aaralyn and gasped. He took her from my arms and held her in his. I sighed in relief and rubbed my aching arms.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I afraid that the worst has happened for them, Sirius," Dumbledore said, "Hogwarts is no longer safe for them now that Professor Umbridge is there."

"What did that toad -" Sirius stopped himself and cleared his throat, "I'm sorry. What did..._Umbridge _do?"

"She took us to Division," I said, "Then we were separated and questioned and I don't know _what _that jack-ass...oh, sorry Professor."

"It's quite alright," he said coolly, "Continue."

"Well anyways," I said, "When we looked for Aaralyn we found her beaten up and unconscious with this almost-giant-sized man standing above her."

"That foul git," Sirius hissed, "I'll kill-"

"I believe Rosaline has already taken care of that for you," Dumbledore said, glancing at me.

Sirius then looked at me shocked.

"Rosaline, you didn't..." Sirius's sentence drifted away.

"Oh, _no_," I said, "I just erase his memory. He'll wake up thinking it's Sunday."

Sirius chuckled and then looked down at his niece that was cradled in his arms.

"I think I'll take her to her room," he said, "Thank you for bringing them."

"It was a slight risk to my hiding," Dumbledore nodded, "So now I must leave."

And in a crack of a whip, he was gone. Sirius carried Aaralyn to her room and laid her gently down on her bed. He looked over her carefully and cautiously. She had a few bruises on her arms, a busted lip and a bruise forming underneath her left eye. Sirius carefully examined almost each limb she had.

"Well nothing's broken," he said thankfully, "She'll definitely need something to heal up those cuts and bruises."

"If I know Aaralyn," I said, "She'll make it through."

"Sirius!" someone called from downstairs.

Sirius went down the stairs quickly and I curiously followed. Sirius was already at the hallway talking to someone.

"Sirius I need to talk to you," a familiar voice said, "Aaralyn and Rosaline are missing. And the foul toad-faced Umbridge is behind it."

I finally reached the bottom step to see Harry with an extremely worried look on his face. He looked past Sirius, towards me, and his jaw dropped.

"Rosaline!" he said, quickly attacking me with a protective hug.

"Whoa, whoa," I said, "Hi."

I gently hugged back and he pulled away, closely examining my face.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, "Did Umbridge do something to you? Where the bloody hell have you been today?"

"Slow your roll there, Sparky," I said, "I'm not hurt, but if you kept hold me this tight I might get a few bruises on my arms."

Harry immediately pulled his arms away.

"What happened?" he asked, "Where's Aaralyn?"

"She's upstairs," I said, "She's pretty beaten up."

"Beaten up?" Harry asked, "What happened?"  
>"Umbridge turned us in," I said, "To Division."<p>

"How'd that gargoyle know about Division?" Harry asked.

"Beats me," I shrugged, "But all I know is that we were there. They separated me and Aaralyn so I don't know what exactly happened to her. I'm assuming it was the giant-like man that was near her when we found her. I mean _honestly_, the man was almost as big as Hagrid."

Harry only gave a light chuckle but then his eyes started to glint with curiosity. So I continued the story. I told him all about Carver and what happened when we were there and when Dumbledore came to take us away.

"Dumbledore was there?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, "But he left a while ago. He couldn't risk himself being caught."

Harry sighed and hung his head.

"So why are _you _here?" I asked.

"Well Hermione immediately noticed that you guys were gone," Harry said, "She almost pulled together a search party for you. So we checked everywhere to look for you. Then Michael Corner told us that he saw you and Aaralyn being taken away by Umbridge personally when the D.A. was caught. So we broke into her office, but sadly found nothing. I knew that the Floo Network was under surveillance, but Umbridge's fireplace wasn't. So I came here to tell Sirius. I thought he could help."

"Well you should get back before Umbridge comes back to her office," I warned.

Harry nodded and then said his goodbyes before going back in the fireplace, disappearing in the green flames. I lightly smiled and then suddenly felt light-headed. I hated using too much of my powers; I always became very dizzy.

"I'm going to get some rest," I said.

Sirius nodded and then I went back up the stairs. Once I reached my room, I finally let what was left of strength go and collapsed onto my bed. I closed my eyes and then began to drift off into a dark, dreamless sleep.

Aaralyn's POV

I slowly started to wake up. I expected to see myself back in lab, strapped to the bed, but instead I saw my room. Was I dreaming? I quickly lifted myself up, but then immediately felt an aching pain throughout my body. I slowly brought myself back down, wincing as I hit the mattress. Suddenly the door opened, revealing Rosaline. She looked at me and smiled.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"When did we get here?" I asked.

"Dumbledore took us from Division and brought us here," she said.

"Dumbledore?" I asked, "How did he know where we were?"

"I have no idea," she said, "But Dumbledore knows everything, which is really weird but true."

I lightly laughed and nodded my head in agreement. Rosaline then walked over to the side of the bed and held out her hand.

"Come on," she said.

I took her hand and this time I slowly got up from bed. Once I was on my own two feet, I let go of her hand and walked downstairs. I sat down at the dining room table while Rosaline pulled out two mugs from the kitchen cabinet.

"What do you think happened to the D.A. after we were gone?" I asked curiously.

"Harry told me that they're all serving detention," Rosaline said as she made the tea, "Fudge came by to take Dumbledore to Azkaban but he escaped. So Umbridge is now the headmistress."

"That's terrible," I said, making a disgusted face.

"I know," Rosaline sighed, "But we can't do anything about it. If we go back, Umbridge will find us and most likely kill us."

"So we're basically stuck here," I said.

"Basically," Rosaline nodded, handing me a steaming cup of tea.

I wrap both of my hands around the mug, absorbing the warmth of the hot liquid inside. I took a small sip and then set the cup down on the table.

"I'm going to miss Hogwarts," I sighed.

"Me too," Rosaline agreed.

"I'll mostly miss George," I said, "I'll miss him holding me every day or just hearing his voice."

"You'll see him during the holidays," Rosaline said hopefully.

"Yeah," I said, "But it's not the same."

"Don't even think about it," Rosaline strictly said.

She left me confused for a moment, making me stare at her curiously.

"What?" I asked.

"I know that right now you're thinking about sneaking out and seeing him," Rosaline said, "So don't even think about it."

"Damn," I muttered, "You know me too well."

"You're my best friend," Rosaline shrugged, "I'm supposed to know these things about you."

"Very true," I giggled.

* * *

><p>Night soon fell. I knew that Rosaline told me not to, but does she actually think I'll listen to her? I tip-toed my way out of my room, down the hallway, towards the room at the very end. I cautiously turned the knob and slowly opened the door. I saw Buckbeak, the hippogriff, resting in the middle of the room. He raised his head towards me, his orange eyes glowing brightly in the dark. I bowed to him, waiting for him to bow towards me. He lowered his large, bird-head and then I quietly stepped closer to him. I untied the rope around his neck and guided him to the window. I opened it and then stepped out onto the ledge of the house. I tugged Buckbeak out of the window, as quietly as I could. I then slid onto his back and held on tightly. I tapped on his side, like you would for a horse, and he flew off into the sky.<p>

I knew that Buckbeak would fly for Hogwarts, since he would want to see Hagrid. I just held on tightly, keeping a look out for anyone watching. But for extra precaution, I had Buckbeak fly a little closer to the clouds. Soon he lowered himself away from the clouds, revealing the green, rolling hills that led to Hogwarts. The castle was dark, not a single light in a window; so everyone was asleep. Buckbeak swiftly landed by the Black Lake, right by my favorite spot underneath the big tree. I slid off of Buckbeak's back and tied the rope back around his neck and the other end of it on the trunk of the tree.

"Stay hidden," I whispered to him, "I'll be back soon."

I then ran off to the castle. But then I thought; how would I get in?

"Shit," I muttered, "Didn't think about that."

_Maybe the door would be open...No, who am I kidding? Umbridge is the headmistress now...God dammit! I wish I could just fly to the Gryffindor Tower, but taking Buckbeak would be too risky. And I can't fly a broom, so that's a no-go...Wait, but I can levitate...Shit! I don't have a broom!_

"Great," I said, "How am I supposed to get a broom?"

"Well yeh could ask," a rough, deep voice said behind me.

I jumped back, scared out of my wits, and then turned to see who it was. It was Hagrid. He was standing next to Buckbeak, feeding him a dead ferret.

"Hagrid," I said, "Did you see me fly in?"

"Well if I was at home, I wouldn' of," he said, "But I was in the forest so...yeah I did."

"Okay," I said, "So I'm guessing you have a broom."

"I keep it in me hut," he smiled, "Wait one sec'nd."

He shuffled off to his shabby house near by, and came back moments later with an old broom in his hand.

"It's a bit ol' but it'll do," he shrugged, handing it too me.

"Thanks," I said.

"I bett'r go off then," he said, "Don' get caught."

I nodded and then mounted onto the broom. I then wrapped one hand around the broom, and faced the palm of my other hand towards the ground. Slowly, the broom started to uneasily lift into the air. I then pushed myself forward, and I was flying off to the Gryffindor Tower.

Once I made it there, I counted up to the seventh years' floor. I gently moved the broom next to the window. I then slowly removed my other hand from the broom and brought it to the window; while still trying to balance myself on the broom. I tapped on it rapidly with my fingers and then waited. Nothing happened, so I rapped again against the glass. Right after my third tap, someone jumped up from their bed and angrily rushed to the window.

"For Merlin's sake you stupid owl," Fred growled, "People are slee - Aaralyn?"

"Hey," I said.

"What...what..how..." was all he managed to say.

"I have no time to explain right now," I said, "Could you get George?"

"Yeah," he said, still trying to react to the fact that I was at their window.

He disappeared from the window to wake up his brother. I could hear George groan and hiss as he woke up.

"What the bloody hell do you want?" he asked, "It's the middle of the night!"

"You'll never _believe _who's at our window," Fred whispered, "Aaralyn."

"I don't care if it's - wait, Aaralyn?" George said.

"Yeah," Fred said, "Go look."

I then heard the quiet shuffling of feet come closer to the window. Soon George popped his head out, wide-eyed and with adorable bed-head.

"Hey," I said.

"What are you doing?" he asked, "How did you get here? How did you even manage to get on a broom?"

"I already said I don't have time for details," I said, "I just wanted to see you."

George chuckled and ran a hand through his red hair.

"You're bloody crazy," he said.

"Yeah I know," I giggled.

"I'm glad you came," he smiled, "Because I wanted to tell you something. And also ask you something."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Fred and I are leaving Hogwarts," he said.

"What?" I gasped, "Did you get expelled?"

"No," he said, "We're just...leaving."

"But why?" I asked, "Where will you go?"

"We bought a shop in Diagon Alley," he said, "It's going to be our joke shop. We've been planning it for almost two years now. And since Umbridge is now taking over Hogwarts, we don't see the point in finishing. We already have several products out and we always come up with new, crazy ideas. We don't need N.E.W.T.s for those. And there's a flat right above it so we already have a place to stay."

"That sounds great," I said, "And if you want to do it, then do it. So what did you want to ask me?"

"Would you like to come with me?" he asked.

My eyes widened into the size of saucers. I was completely taken back that I didn't know what to say. I almost lost control of levitating the broom.

"Come on," he begged, "You know that you can't come back to Hogwarts. And I know that you can't stand being cooped up in that dark home for the rest of your life. It's not right. Fred's fine with you staying, and I want you to come. You could start all over with me and Fred. You could work the cash register and help make new products and -"

"Yes," I finally said.

George looked at me wide-eyed, and then smiled brightly.

"You'll come?" he said.

"Yeah," I said, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I'd kiss you but then I'd fall out the window," he chuckled.

"I wouldn't want that to happen," I giggled, "So when do we leave?"

"During O.W.L.s would be the best time," he said, "So in...five days."

"I'll come back the night before we leave," I said, "I should go before I get caught."

"Bye," he said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," I smiled.

George smiled back and then shut the window. I levitated the broom away from the tower and moved it back to the Black Lake. Once I reached where Buckbeak was, I dropped my hand completely and landed on my feet. I set Hagrid's old broom against the tree and then untied Buckbeak's rope. I slid back onto his back and then we rode off to Grimmauld before the sun rose.


	33. A New Adventure

**A/N: I'm TERRIBLY sorry for not updating sooner. I had an ass-load of stuff happening and I feel sooo bad for not writing. But thank you for being patient! And FINALLY im-the-doctor has returned (Where the hell have you been?)! So this is a filler, nothing big. But I put something funny at the end for George, so get ready to laugh! :)**

* * *

><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

Seeing Blaine again brought back the worst memories of my life. I enjoyed forgetting about everything he did to me. And then the pathetic, stupid, selfish, cocky _bastard _just had to waltz back in, bringing all of the memories with him and just dumping them on me. How could he do that to me? I hate him. I hate him more than anyone. I hate him, hate him, hate him, hate him...

"Rosaline," Aaralyn said, interrupting my thoughts.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking at me suspiciously.

"Yeah," I said quickly, "Why would you ask that?"

"Oh well I don't know," she said in mock puzzlement, "Maybe because you were glaring at the floor and your knuckles are know white from making such tight fists."

I looked down at my hands to see that she was right; my knuckles were white and my fists were starting to shake. I quickly loosened my hands, feeling the immediate ache in my bones. I lightly shook my hands but failed to wear off the pain.

"Is there something on your mind?" Aaralyn asked, "I haven't seen you this mad since...well, you know..."

"Would you be surprised if I told you it was for the same reason?" I asked.

Aaralyn looked at me wide-eyed, but her shock then eased. She sighed and shook her head.

"Rosaline you shouldn't dwell on the past," she said, "I know that you trusted Blai - sorry, I didn't mean to mention -"

"It's okay," I said.

"Okay," Aaralyn said in an unsure tone, "Anyways, it was Blaine's decision to join to Division. And then he gave them information on our whereabouts, which was worse. But at least he didn't do something worse than that."

"He did," I said, "Remember when I found out my dad was killed?"

"Yeah," she sighed sadly, "Worst day ever. Damn the Pop family."

"Yeah, funny thing," I said, "The Pop family didn't kill Dad."

"How would you know that?" she asked.

"The way he died," I said, "It was too simple for the Pop family. They were the kind of people that bound them, tortured them and _then _killed them. It was cheap and dirty...just like Division."

"I'm not surprised," she growled, "I bet Carver was behind it, too."

"I know Carver was behind it," I said, "No one else wanted to kill my dad more than him."

"Very true," she nodded, "But what does this have to do with Blaine?"  
>I thought for a moment, thinking about whether I should say anything or not. But then I shook my head.<p>

"It's nothing," I lied.

"Okay," Aaralyn said, "Well anyways, I have something to tell you."

"Alright," I said, "I need something else to think about anyway."

"Just promise me you won't be mad," she begged.

"Oh God, this can't be good," I groaned, "What did you do now?"

"Hey!" she gasped.

"Sorry," I said, holding up my hands in defense, "Continue."

"Alright," she said, still slightly offended, "George and Fred are dropping out of Hogwarts."

"What?" I gasped, "Why?"

"Long story short," she said, "They're opening up a joke shop in Diagon Alley, they hate what Umbridge has done with the school and they don't see a point in finishing if they could open it right now."

I slowly took in each bit and then finally breathed out. I had always been one to disapprove of quitting school, but since it was Umbridge we were talking about, I might as well make an exception.

"Well," I said, "This is...big."

"Isn't that a lovely way to describe it?" Aaralyn scoffed.

"How am I supposed to describe it?" I asked, "It's...like I said before, big. I'm speechless, honestly."

"Well if you're speechless about that..." she drifted off.

I looked at her curiously as she anxiously fiddled with her fingers.

"I'm going with them," she finally said.

I felt a sudden tightness in my throat. I coughed from choking on my own saliva, lightly grasping onto my upper chest. My breathing started to become even again. I sighed and then looked up to see Aaralyn staring at me as if I had four heads.

"You're going with them?" I repeated.

"Yeah," she said slowly.

"Okay," I said coolly.

"Really?" she asked shocked.

"Yeah, just one question though," I said, "Are you out of your _freakin' _mind?"

"I knew you'd act like this," she muttered.

"Of course I would!" I said shrilly, "You're 15! You shouldn't leave your education for some guy."

"It's not just George," Aaralyn rolled her eyes.

"Oh really?" I asked sarcastically, "Then what else?"

"I don't belong in Hogwarts," she said, "I'm not a wizard, so why even go to a wizardry school? It's like trying to make an apple be a peach. I know that's an odd statement but it's true. Because no matter what, it will still be an apple. I'll still be a Muggle...well technically a Squib, but still."

She was right...in an odd way. I didn't belong there either, so why don't I want to leave, too?

"That does make sense," I muttered, with the sound of defeat.

"Thank you," she sighed.

"So where are you going to live?" I asked.

"There's a flat above the store," she said.

I raised an eyebrow and then a smirk grew on my face.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"You and George living together," I chuckled.

"Shut up," she rolled her eyes.

"I think it's cute," I giggled.

"Don't say 'cute,'" she grimaced.

I only laughed and shook my head in amusement. Aaralyn continued to make a disgusted face and scowled at me. She started to bite her lip, to hold back a laugh. She let out a small giggle and smiled at me.

"So you're fine with this?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said.

She walked over to my side and hugged me thankfully.

"Just don't tell Sirius," she said, "I'm expecting a bigger argument from him. And Molly, once she finds out."

"That sounds very unpleasant for you," I chuckled, "I'm sorry I'll miss it."

"Put a sock in it, Moriali," she scoffed, "So are you staying at Hogwarts?"

"Obviously," I shrugged, "I might have very little chance in passing most of my O.W.L.s, but I know I'll have enough to maybe become Hogwarts' next groundskeeper."

"Or you could try to be a Herbology teacher," Aaralyn suggested.

"Maybe I could take care of dragons in Romania, like Ron's brother," I said, "I don't know honestly."

"Just try to find something with as little magic as possible," she smiled.

"Right," I nodded.

Aaralyn's POV

I finished packing all of my things, leaving behind my school books and potion supplies. I waited until night fell so I could leave. I sneaked into Buckbeak's room and tied the trunk onto his side. I quietly untied the rope and opened the window. We rode off again into the night sky.

Hogwarts came into view, making my heart leap faster than before. Instead of landing by the Black Lake like last time, we flew to the Astronomy Tower. Buckbeak quietly brought himself to the grounds, talons first and then hooves. I slid off his back and then untied the trunk. I set it down and then turned to Buckbeak.

"You can go back," I whispered to him, "The window is still opened. I'm not going to come."

Buckbeak quietly whined, sadly looking at me with his big orange eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," I said, "Now go."

Buckbeak slowly backed away and then spread out his wings. He leaped from the tower and flew back to Grimmauld.

"It's funny watching you talk to animals," someone chuckled from behind.

I jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. I turned around and saw George smiling at me. I smiled back at him and jumped into his arms. I kissed him passionately, placing my hands on both sides of his face. He quickly tightened his grasp, taking in every second we had together as he held me. I pulled away, gasping for breath, and looked dreamily into his eyes.

"I missed you," I whispered, dangerously close to his lips.

"Not as much as I missed you," he said.

I kissed him again, this time gentler and more tender. I pulled away seconds later and smiled brightly. George let me go and then picked up my trunk.

"This way, Miss White," he said playfully.

I giggled and followed him down from the Astronomy Tower. We quietly made our way to the Gryffindor Tower. George whispered the password, getting a scornful look from the sleepy Fat Lady who's painting was the entrance to the common room. She eyed me oddly and then opened the entrance. We tip-toed in. George set the trunk down by the couch that sat in front of the blazing fireplace. We sat down together on the couch, his arm around my shoulders.

"I still can't believe you're coming," he said.

"Me neither," I said, "Rosaline almost exploded when I told her. It's a good thing I didn't tell Sirius."

"I'm glad, too," he sighed, "Sirius is a great guy and all, but he can scare me. When we're in the same room, he keeps looking at me as if I got away with a crime."

"He's my uncle," I said, "He's just being protective of me."

"Does he have lower my self-confidence, though?" he asked.

I giggled and shrugged.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"You," I said, "You're cute when you're scared."

George then smirked.

"I'm sorry but the answer I was looking for was 'ruggedly handsome,'" he said.

"Right," I giggled, lightly kissing his cheek. I then tucked my head into his shoulder, his head resting on top of mine. I sat there quietly, listening to his steady breathing. I smiled to myself and scooted closer to him. I then listened to his heartbeat, which slowly started to lull me to sleep.

"I love you," I heard George whisper against my hair.

"I love you, too," I sleepily said.

My eyelids started to become very heavy. I closed my eyes and then drifted off.

George's POV

I watched as Aaralyn fell asleep in my arms. I smiled at her sleeping figure and then gazed back at the fire. I couldn't believe I was with such an amazing girl. It's been over a year and now she's going to live with me. Fred and I will soon open up the joke shop and Aaralyn will be right there with us. It was a dream come true.

I heard someone coming down the stairs of the boys' dormitory. A few moments later, Fred appeared in the common room.

"George what are you -" he started, but I pressed my finger to lips and then pointed at Aaralyn, who was still asleep.

"Oh," he whispered, "When did she get here?"

"A few minutes ago," I whispered.

"Shouldn't you go to bed?" he asked, "You've been up all night waiting for her."

"I'm not tired," I said.

Fred shrugged, yawned and then went back upstairs. I stayed on the couch, holding Aaralyn. I then stifled a yawn and gently leaned my head against Aaralyn's. I slowly closed my eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep. It was nothing but blank, darkness. But the whole time I was thinking about Aaralyn; her eyes, her smile, her laugh, the way her hair danced behind her when she walked. All I could think about was how lucky I was to be with her.

**You think too much about this Aaralyn chick, **a deep, husky voice called to me in the dark.

_Who the bloody hell was that? _my thoughts shouted back.

**Your conscience, you stupid git.**

_Oh, thank Merlin. I thought I was going crazy for a moment._

**That's too bad. I honestly think your mind would be even **_**more **_**interesting if you went crazy.**

_Nose down, you git. So what were you saying about Aaralyn?_

**Great, he wants to bring up Aaralyn; the girl that has **_**changed **_**his life and makes his heart explode when he sees her. Oh, joy!**

_You really don't enjoy life, do you?_

**I'm a conscience; I have no life.  
><strong>

_Obviously. And it doesn't matter what you said about Aaralyn anyway._

**Okay fine, don't listen to me. After all, I am your conscience. What does my opinion mean anyway? Go ahead, don't listen to your conscience. I'm sure your own opinion is fine.**

_You're really sarcastic, you know that? Wait, please don't answer that. I don't need to hear another ridiculous answer. I can't believe I'm having an argument with myself right now. I'm basically talking to myself in the dark. Great._

**Well this technically a dream. And since this is your dream, you can imagine whatever you want.**

As soon as the voice said that, the common room reappeared. But instead of being on the couch, I was standing in front of the fireplace. Another me was on the couch, holding Aaralyn. It was as if I was watching over myself. I smirked as watched Aaralyn sleep.

"Honestly, can't you think of something _besides _her for five seconds?" someone asked.

I looked up to see a shadowed figure, sitting by the small table and reading a book. He closed the book and then stepped out of the shadows. I was slightly taller than him, but I was taller than a lot of people. He looked like he was at least in his early 20's. He had shaggy dark brown hair that covered the top part of his dark brown eyes. He dressed in darker clothing and wore a black and white checkered wrist band. From the way he spoke, he sounded like he would be in Slytherin. He seemed like an arse to me.

He look up and down at me and smirked.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," he said.

"So you're my conscience," I said.

"You were expecting someone different," he said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Well I was, too," he said, "But instead I end up being the conscience of a 17-year-old, ginger wizard."

"Sod off," I muttered.

He smirked again and then walked over to the front of the couch, next to me. He looked at the other me and Aaralyn.

"Wow," he said, "You're right, she's hot. How did you get _her_?"

"What, you think I couldn't get a girl?" I asked, slightly offended.

"Maybe," he shrugged fake innocently, "Don't answer the question anyway. I heard your thoughts when you first met her."

I chuckled, remembering taking that bet with Aaralyn last year.

"And she's going to live with you now?" he asked surprised.

"Why are you so surprise?" I asked.

"Calm down, lad," he said holding up his hands in defense, "It's a little shocking, is all."

"You know what," I said, "I'm done with your ridicule. I can get all of that crap from my mum."

"Fine," he shrugged, "I'll go. But you're probably going to do something stupid soon, so I'll be back."

I rolled my eyes and then he disappeared and so did the common room. And I was greeted again by the rest of the dreamless night.

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><p><strong>AN: Hallelujah! New chapter is out! Did you guys like the new character? Yeah, he'll be in the story every now and then, bugging and tormenting George. He's probably the worst conscience ever (well the worst if you don't count mine xD). Review please!**


	34. Fireworks

**A/N: Yay! New chapter! And it's a fun chapter! Sweet. So it's filler basically, but I'll tell you something that happens. Nothing major, just a detail to look forward to. Actually it'll just be one word and you'll have to guess what happens. Okay, ready? Sirius. That's it.**

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><p>"Aaralyn!" someone shrieked.<p>

My eyes shot opened. I was still in the Gryffindor common room, on the couch in George's arms. I looked up to see a lot of Gryffindor students gaping down at me, including Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

George and I glanced at each other, surprised and not knowing what to do.

"Uh.." I paused, looking back at the group of people in front of me, "I'm...uh...I came...to visit?"

"Do you know how dangerous that is?" Hermione asked shrilly.

"Don't worry," I sighed, "I'll be in here all day. It's not like Umbridge comes in here."

Hermione glared, knowing that she was defeated in the building argument. She sighed and crossed her arms furiously.

"Is Rosaline here, too?" Ginny asked.

"No, sorry," I said, "It's just me."

"Why wouldn't she come?" Dean asked curiously.

"Beats me," I shrugged.

"We should get going," Hermione said, "O.W.L.s are starting soon."

Slowly the crowd started to thin out. Soon everyone was gone, except for a few of the 7th years. A few moments later, Fred came down the stairs.

"'Morning," he said.

"'Morning," George yawned.

"So when will we be ready to go?" Fred asked, lowering a voice.

"Well, Aaralyn is ready," George said, "And I just have to get a few things together and then we'll be ready. So I'm thinking, some time during the second or third O.W.L."

"Brilliant," Fred smirked.

He then went back upstairs, leaving me and George by ourselves.

"You nervous?" I asked.

"No, more like overly excited," he smiled.

I laughed and nodded in agreement. Seconds later Fred came running down the stairs with a trunk in his arms. He set it down next to mine and then lifted up a very full cloth bag.

"What's in the bag?" I asked curiously.

"A little something for Hogwarts to remember us by," Fred smiled deviously.

"I better finish packing," George said, getting up from his seat.

He went upstairs to grab his things. Fred sat down next to me and looked at me, still smirking.

"What?" I asked.

"So did you sleep well?" he chuckled.

"Shut up," I glared as I smacked his arm hard. He winced, but was still laughing, which made me continue to hit him.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" he repeated so that I could stop bruising his arm. "Merlin's beard, Aaralyn. That hurt."

"Man up," I rolled my eyes.

George came back down the stairs and immediately noticed me glaring at Fred.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing," Fred and I said.

* * *

><p>George and Fred tied the trunks to the bottom of their brooms. Fred pulled out a small firework from the bag and set it off. It flew off into the Great Hall where the O.W.L.s were being held. I could hear it explode inside the room. Then George and I mounted on to his broom as Fred mounted onto his. I saw Umbridge standing at the entrance, gawking up at the flying figures of us coming in closer and closer.<p>

We zoomed into the Great Hall. O.W.L. exams flew into the air, fluttering back down to the ground. Fred and George continued to throw out fireworks in the room, letting them explode in bright colors. A few of them were charmed to chase a couple of the students; preferably Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.

George pulled out a giant firework, lit it and then handed it to me.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked.

I grinned widely and nodded, grabbing the firework.

"Take this, you bitch!" I shouted at Umbridge.

I threw the firework behind my back and then George and I flew out of the room. I looked behind me to see it explode and form into a firework-dragon. I saw it charge at Umbridge, and then we flew out of Hogwarts. As we soared into the sky, Fred and George threw out more fireworks. Soon the fireworks created an giant, exploding 'W' in the sky.

Several students ran out to the courtyard to watch the fireworks. I could hear them cheering and clapping as we flew farther away from the school. We were actually leaving.

"We've done it!" Fred cheered.

"Bye-bye Hogwarts," George shouted, "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, here we come!"

I laughed and held on tighter to George's waist. The sun was still high in the sky as we continued our flight to Diagon Alley. It wasn't that long of a ride. Soon we touched back down to the ground, in the crowded area of Diagon Alley. And right in front of us was the new shop; Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. I smiled to myself as I gazed up at my new home. Fred unlocked the door and then let us in. The shop was empty, but large. There were hundreds of shelves to be filled, which meant hundreds of inventions to be made. This was going to be the best job ever.

"Well let's bring this stuff up to the flat," Fred sighed.

I lifted up my trunk and then followed Fred and George upstairs. We were met by a small hallway and a door at the end.

"Home sweet home," George smiled.

He opened the door and revealed an amazing flat. The living room walls were a scarlet red; obviously Fred and George wanted to show their Gryffindor pride. Two brown cushioned chairs and a burgundy couch sat around a small coffee table. The kitchen was to the left and another hallway led to the bedrooms. Fred took his trunk to his room, leaving me in the living room with George.

"Well," George said, "What do you think?"

"It's fantastic," I smiled, "Better than any home _I've_ lived in before."

"You know, I've always wondered," he said, "Where have you lived before?"

"Well I was Hong Kong all of my life," I said, "I lived in the headquarters of Division until I was 10. I was on the streets for two years. And then I lived in a shabby apartment with Nick and Rosaline. Then we ran off to a bunch of different places; most of them in America. The last place I stayed in was a rundown apartment in New York."

"Oh," George said awkwardly, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I shrugged, continuing my exploring of the flat, "I never had a real home."

George then walked over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"You're home now," he smiled.

I smiled back and then stood up on my tip-toes to reach his lips.

"Merlin's beard!" Fred groaned, making us pull away, "We just got here and _already _you're snogging in the living room!"

"Then go to another room," I said.

Fred rolled his eyes and then went back to his room. George lightly chuckled and then held onto my hand, pulling me down the hall. He then opened one of the doors in the hallway.

"This is your room," he said.

I gasped at the sight of it. The walls were a midnight blue and the ceiling actually looked like the night sky, like in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Several stars glittered brightly and a small moon was covered by thin dark clouds. A medium sized bed sat against the wall, covered in purple and black covers.

"I love it," I smiled, "How did you get the ceiling to look like that?"

"It wasn't easy," he sighed, "Luckily, Hermione gave me a couple of tips."

"It's amazing," I said, "Thank you."

I walked back to his side and kissed him sweetly on the lips. I could feel his smile against my lips as he deepened the kiss. He quickly wrapped his arms around me while I placed my hands on his chest.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!" someone shrieked from downstairs.

George sadly moaned against my lips. He then pulled away with a frown.

"I was wondering when she would come here," he sighed.

"Come on," Fred said as he walked by us, "Better now than later."

We walked down the stairs to see Molly standing by the front door, scowling terribly at us. Surprisingly, Sirius was there, too. But then again, I wasn't surprised.

"How _could _you do this?" she asked shrilly, "I expected better from you two! How dare you waste your education! And to make things worse, George you bring your girlfriend with you!" she then softened her voice and turned to me, "Of course I don't blame you, Aaralyn. It wasn't your idea."

"Stop taking this child for granted, Molly," Sirius said, "Aaralyn is a part of this as much as Fred and George. Rosaline told me everything," he then added when he noticed my confused look.

I cursed under my breath, as Molly and Sirius then continued to lecture us.

"Why would you waste your education on _this_?" Molly asked, "You could do so much better!"

"Mum, we don't want to do anything else!" Fred said, "We're not like Charlie or Bill or Per -"

He stopped himself from saying Percy's name. Molly winced slightly but immediately recovered and continued to glare at her sons.

"What we're saying is," George said, "This is basically our dream. We haven't thought of doing anything else. This isn't some impossible fantasy; we can actually make a business of this. Trust us, Mum."

Her glare softened and then she crossed her arms in thought. She sighed and lightly smiled. But Sirius didn't seem to give in. He was still looking quite furious.

"Well," she said, "Alright. We'll see how this turns out."

Sirius cleared his throat quite loudly. Molly then rolled her eyes and then turned to me.

"We're still...well _Sirius _is still uncomfortable about Aaralyn living here," she said.

"Yeah, I figured that," I sighed.

"I don't approve of it," Sirius snapped, "You're too young to be living with..._him_."

"You make it sound like he's an unspeakable disease," I said, "He's my boyfriend, Sirius. I know you don't like the sound of it but it's the truth," I added when I saw him twitch at the sound of the word 'boyfriend.'

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Molly reassured him.

Sirius looked at me; his eyes showed that he trusted me but he wanted to protect me. He then looked at George, showing extreme protection and slight anger in his eyes. He sighed and finally gave in.

"Fine," he said.

I smiled and then hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," I said.

He pulled away and then faced George.

_Crap, this can't be good._

But surprisingly, he held out his hand. George awkwardly stared at him and then his hand. He slowly brought out his hand and then shook it. Sirius smiled, making George loosen up a bit. But then Sirius's expression became serious again.

"If you do something stupid," he said, "Like break her heart or _get her pregnant_, I'll damage you."

George looked slightly frightened. Molly scoffed and then lightly slapped Sirius's arm. I wanted to hit Sirius, too, but I was too busy stopping myself from blushing to do anything. Fred was chuckling in the background, enjoying my embarrassment.

"Well I think we'll be leaving now," Molly smiled, looking at my sympathetically.

Sirius transformed into his dog form and then Molly opened the door and they were gone. As soon as the door closed, I leaned against the counter and banged my head against the wood.

"I can't believe he said that!" I shrieked.

"I thought it was funny," Fred chuckled.

"Shut up!" George and I shouted at him.

He only laughed more and then walked back upstairs.

"I'm really sorry about Sirius," I said.

"It's okay," he said, "I have to admit, I was frightened."

I bit my lip to hold back a laugh.

"But I know he's just looking out for you," he said.

"You're too sweet," I smiled, bringing myself closer to him.

"I know," he smirked as he wrapped his arms around me.

George leaned in, playfully brushing his lips against mine. He then softly brought his hand on the side of my face and kissed me gently. The quickly grew more passionate and fiery. Every few seconds he'd pull away to tease me; but two could play at this game. When he brought his lips back on mine, I lightly nibbled on his bottom lip. I deepened the kiss, tracing his collarbone with my fingers while I pulled him even closer to me. He moaned in pleasure and kissed me fully this time.

"Hey!" Fred from the top of the stairs, "I think he was serious about the pregnancy thing!"

"Shut up!" George groaned loudly.

Rosaline's POV

My morning was quite eventful. Aaralyn was gone when I woke up. Sirius didn't seem to notice until the afternoon. Mrs. Weasley came storming into the house, shrieking about how Fred and George had dropped out of Hogwarts. Sirius didn't go ballistic until he heard the words "and Aaralyn left with them." He searched the whole house to see that her room was empty of her things and she wasn't anywhere to be found. Then he came to me, started asking questions. I didn't exactly put up a fight; I just hesitated and then told him. He was definitely mad and then stormed out of the house with Mrs. Weasley. I knew that Aaralyn wasn't going to like that.

About a half an hour later, Sirius came back. He had a small frown on his face. I was sensing a defeat in an argument, which meant Aaralyn was still living with George and Fred. I think it was mostly Aaralyn living with George that he was mad about.

I sat in my room, reading a book; feeling slightly bored since Aaralyn was gone. Suddenly I heard a continuous tap at my window. A small brown owl was standing at the window sill, holding a letter between its beak. I opened the window, took the letter and let the owl fly away. Who could be writing to me? I opened the envelope and started to read.

_Dear Rosaline (and Aaralyn if you're still there),_

_ I saw what happened with Aaralyn, and Nick is pretty pissed. He keeps yelling at the walls since Aaralyn isn't really there for him to yell at. It's kind of ridiculous. So I decided to write so I could tell Aaralyn what he wanted to say. But she probably has already left, so just pass this on to her when you can:_

_ "Aaralyn White! How dare you go run off with some guy! And on top of that he's 17! He has more experience and could take advantage of you! I expected better from you! You're 15! You're too young to living with a guy! What if he hurts you? Or gets you pregnant? But apparently you won't because Cassie says so. But Watchers can only see a few days into the future, so maybe not until next week or the next! You just wait until you come home...wait, damn you won't! I keep forgetting that."_

I paused to laugh a little at Nick and then continued to read.

_Well it basically keeps going on like that. But trust me, he'll get over it. Nick's just being the over-protective weirdo he is. I do hope to see you guys soon. Division will soon fade out and give up on us and then we'll live normally. I just hope that will be soon. But like Nick said, I can't see that far into the future. The only person that could is my mom, but she's still missing. I miss her. Enough about me, I want to know what's going on with Aaralyn and this ginger guy! They seem pretty serious. And don't think I've forgotten you, Rosaline. Yeah, that means I know about that asshole in your school. He's in that house...uh, Slitherlot? Slithertin? I don't know, it has something to do with a snake. Well my point is, I know you're trying to avoid him. And I know why._

_Miss you,_

_Cassie_

I hated it when Cassie lectured me about things like this. But sadly, she was right.


	35. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

**A/N: It's 1:30 a.m. and I'm still going strong! Woo-hoo! But I'm definitely going to bed right after this. Okay, this is an important chapter. So pay attention! And don't forget to review. Reviewers will receive virtual Chicken Parmesan (I had some today for dinner and it was so damn good!).**

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><p>George started to fill the shelves with their products. Fred gave the shop a good clean down, so it was no longer dark and dusty. You could actually see how big the place was when the lights were on, and also when it wasn't covered in dust.<p>

"I got an idea of a new product," Fred said, "A hat that keeps flying off your head."

"Sounds like a great prank," George chuckled, "What will we call 'em?"

"Fly Away Hats?" Fred asked.

"Float Off Hats," George suggested.

"How about 'Anti Gravity Hats?'" I asked.

Fred and George looked at each other and then nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good," Fred smiled.

"Anti Gravity Hats," George repeated, "Ruin a gentleman's day by making his hat fly away!"

"Creative slogan," I giggled.

"I'm full of creative ideas," George smirked.

"Hey, we have great ideas, too," Fred said.

"Oh really?" George asked curiously, "What ideas do you have, Fred?"

"Uh..." Fred paused, "Aaralyn's got an idea."

"What?" I asked, "Oh...yeah. Uh..."

Fred's eyes were begging me to say something. George just smirked, thinking that he was only 'smart one' here probably.

"It's coming to me," I said, "Um..." and then it came to me, "WonderWitch."

George and Fred expressions turned curious and confused.

"Products specifically made for young witches," I said.

"Sounds interesting," George nodded.

"Ha!" Fred said, pointing at George, "See? You're not the only smart one!"

"Sod off," George rolled his eyes.

"I'll be upstairs," I laughed.

I walked up the stairs, and towards my room. I still couldn't get used to the idea that I had my own room...in my own home. I had a job, home and an amazing boyfriend to live in it with. Sometimes I wish 'perfect' existed, because this would be what perfect meant to me. I finished my letter to Rosaline and sent it away on a midnight black owl, out the window. I made my way down the stairs, sub-consciously listening to George and Fred bicker.

"Would you just drop it?" George asked.

"You know I never will," Fred smirked, "So you might as well do it so I'll shut up."

"That's a really stupid excuse to do...well, _that_," George said.

"Merlin's beard, you're scared aren't you?" Fred asked, sounding shocked yet amused.

"What?" George scoffed, "No. O-Of course not."

"You stuttered," Fred commented, "Meaning that you're lying."

"Just shut up," George muttered, "I don't want to talk about this."

"Talk about what?" I asked, finally butting in once I became curious enough.

George slightly jumped at the sound of my voice. Fred glanced at George and then at me, waiting for something to happen. What was he expecting?

"Nothing," George quickly said.

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. It was obvious that he was lying, but what about? I shook my head and then walked away. What the hell was that about?

* * *

><p>Tomorrow was opening day of the joke shop. Almost every shelf was filled with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products; including the small section of WonderWitch products, which was all thanks to me. I had just finished setting a display of our newest products by the counter, when a loud, exploding noise came from the back-room; otherwise known as the invention room, or the danger zone. Smoke started to spill from underneath the closed door. I opened the door, getting attack by thick clouds of smoke. I coughed roughly and fanned away as much smoke as possible.<p>

"What the hell did you guys do?" I asked, still coughing.

"Just an experiment," Fred said.

"Well whatever you do, don't burn down the shop," I said.

"Can't make any promises," George shrugged.

I rolled my eyes and then went back to the counter. From outside the shop, I could see a few kids with their parents gazing wonderfully at the shop. I guess George, Fred and I weren't the only ones excited about opening day. Suddenly someone was knocking on the door. Surprisingly it was Mr. Weasley. I opened the door and smiled brightly.

"Mr. Weasley," I said, "Hi. Come in."

"Hello, Aaralyn," he smiled back, "I just came by to look at the place. And from the looks of it, it's coming along quite well."

"I'll go get Fred and George," I said.

I walked towards the back-room. The door was slightly opened, so I could hear George and Fred quite clearly.

"I thought I already told you not to talk about this," George groaned.

"And I thought I told you that I'll never drop it," Fred said, "Unless..."

"Shut up," George snapped.

"What are you so afraid of?" Fred asked.

"I'm not afraid," George said.

I opened the door, once again startling Fred and George. George's eyes slightly bigger and had a nervous look to them.

"What were you guys talking about?" I asked.

"Nothing," Fred said, staring at George quite oddly.

"Um, okay," I said awkwardly, "Your dad is here, by the way."

George and Fred pulled off their gloves and goggles and then came out to greet Mr. Weasley.

"Hello boys," Mr. Weasley said.

"Hey Dad," George smiled.

"We didn't know you'd be coming by," Fred said.

"I thought I'd surprise you," Mr. Weasley smiled.

"I'd say it's a nice surprise," I said.

"Come on, Dad," George said, "I'll show you around the shop."

Mr. Weasley followed George to the other side of the gigantic room, showing him all of the knick-knacks and pranking materials we had. I then turned to Fred and crossed my arms.

"So," I said.

"So..." Fred nodded awkwardly.

"What were you guys talking about earlier?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"It didn't sound like it was nothing," I shrugged.

"Alright it was something," he said, "But apparently it wasn't important."

"Fred, what's going on?" I asked, "Does it have to do with George?"

"Like I said, it's not important," he said.

George and Mr. Weasley soon returned.

"Well the place looks fantastic," Mr. Weasley said, "And I loved the idea about the muggle magic tricks. I'll definitely come by for a few of those."

"I actually learned a few of those," I said.

"Oh really?" Mr. Weasley asked excitedly, "Could you show them to me?"

"Sure," I shrugged.

I went behind the counter and pulled out a deck of cards. I shuffled the deck and then pulled out one card; the queen of diamonds.

"You see this card?" I asked.

"Yes," Mr. Weasley said.

"Alright, memorize it," I said, "Keep saying to yourself 'queen of diamonds.'"

"Okay," he said.

I smiled deviously and then flipped the card, making it turn into an ace of spades. Mr. Weasley looked startled and then laughed.

"That's amazing!" he chuckled, "How did you do that?"

"A magician never gives up her secrets," I smirked.

"I am impressed," he said, "You've got yourself a wonderful lady, George," he added, clapping George on the shoulder.

George half-heartedly smiled and nodded. I noticed Fred giving him a certain look, making George give a look back.

_What in the name of Merlin's saggy left trouser is going on? Oh crap, I sound like a witch._

"I better be going," Mr. Weasley smiled, "Your mother will want me home soon."

"Thanks for stopping by, Dad," Fred smiled.

"We'll see you soon," George said.

I walked Mr. Weasley to the door.

"It was nice seeing you, Mr. Weasley," I said.

"I think it was about time you called me Arthur," he said.

"Well I hope you stop by soon, _Arthur_," I smiled.

"Have a nice day, Aaralyn," he said as he walked away from the shop.

I closed the door, turning around to see that Fred and George were already gone. I guess they wanted to get back to their experiments. I walked upstairs and decided to read a book in the living room. I continued to flip through the pages when I thought about what was going on with George and Fred. It was mostly George though. He was acting quite odd lately. And Fred was involved in some way. He was always involved in some odd way. I just wanted to know what the hell was going on!

* * *

><p>"You ready?" I asked excitedly.<p>

Fred and George looked at each other and then nodded towards me.

"Open the door," Fred said.

I turned towards the door, looking at the anxious kids that were waiting outside. I unlocked it and swung it opened, letting the kids swarm in. Immediately the shop came to life with excitement and laughter. Young witches and wizards were looking at the products and few were flying around the shop. I was already in love with my job.

"The place looks awesome," someone said behind me.

I turned around startled, to surprisingly see Rosaline. I squealed and hugged her tightly.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well you told me that opening day was today, so I thought I'd check the place out," she shrugged, "Besides I missed you."

"Yeah, I missed you, too," I said.

"So how is it living with George and Fred?" she asked.

"It's what I expected," I said, "Eventful and crazy every day. How's Sirius?"

"He's doing fine," she said, "He seems to be recovering quite well to this...uh, incident."

"Well that's good," I chuckled.

"Oh, that reminds me," she muttered.

Rosaline then pulled a paper from her back pocket.

"It's a letter I got from Cassie," she said, "She knows that you left, and unfortunately so does Nick."  
>"He was pretty pissed off, wasn't he?" I asked, biting my lip nervously.<p>

She didn't answer. She only opened the letter and cleared her throat.

"'Aaralyn White!'" she quoted, "'How dare you go run off with some guy! And on top of that he's 17! He has more experience and could take advantage of you! I expected better from you! You're 15! You're too young to living with a guy! What if he hurts you? Or gets you pregnant? But apparently you won't because Cassie says so. Blah, blah, blah...' It basically keeps going on like that from what Cassie told me."

"Crap," I groaned, "Do you think he's still mad?"

"No," she said, "Nick's a grown man, he'll get over it."

"Well let's think about something happier," I said, "Would you like a private tour?"

"Sure, why not?" she shrugged.

We then started to walk around the shop.

"You've already seen these before," I explained, "Most of the products are from Fred and George's pranking days at Hogwarts. We do have new products, though: Anti Gravity Hats, Edible Dark Marks, Reusable Hangman..."

"What about this?" Rosaline asked, picking up a small glittery black ball.

"Oh that's a Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," I said, "It's great for escaping since it created complete darkness and penetrates spells such as Lumos or Incendio."

"Impressive," she smirked.

"Excuse me?" a faint voice called from behind.

I turned around to see an 11-year-old girl shyly looking up at me.

"Where could I find the quills?" she asked.

"Oh, their towards the back," I said pointing at the end of the aisle, "You'll find them once you see the Punching Telescopes and Reusable Hangmen."

"Thank you," she smiled and hurried away.

I turned back to Rosaline, who was smiling proudly at me.

"I never thought I'd see this day," she said.

"What?" I asked.

"You have a good job and a normal...not exactly normal life but you love it," she said, "I think I might be jealous of you."

I laughed and amusingly shook my head. Almost very quickly I got a piercing headache. I grasped my forehead and winced.

"Are you okay?" Rosaline asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, "Just a small headache. So do you want to see the rest of the place?"

"Okay," she said.

As I guided her around the store, the headache started to grow stronger. I rubbed my fingers against my forehead, quietly hissing in pain. I shut my eyes and then started to see flickers of something. I stopped in my tracks, making Rosaline stop worriedly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

I didn't answer. I suddenly felt my knees weaken, so I held onto Rosaline's shoulder for support. She quickly grabbed onto me and dragged me into the back room. She sat me down on the floor and made me look her in the eyes.

"What's going on?" she asked.

I still didn't say anything. I could hear her talking to me, but then her voice started to fade away from me. And then my vision was gone. I was seeing something completely different. It was a large room with an archway. People were fighting everywhere with wands, obviously making it a wizard battle. But where was it? I noticed a few familiar faces; Lupin, Moody, Harry. But then the image went away and changed to a new one, a sadder one. Harry was trying to pull away from Lupin's grasp, he was crying and screaming for someone. And then it was black again.

"Aaralyn!" someone shouted.

I returned to reality, seeing George now in front of me, holding me tightly. His eyes worriedly screamed fear.

"Are you okay?" he asked, "What happened? Are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine," I said.

I then started to get up, with the unneeded help from George.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "You could go back up to the flat and lie down if you need to. Or you -"

"I'm fine," I repeated, "Trust me, I'm fine."  
>I lightly smiled and kissed him gently. I looked back into his eyes, hoping that he had stopped worrying about me. He sighed and then kissed my forehead.<p>

"If this happens again then you go straight upstairs," he said.

"Fine," I sighed.

I walked back outside to see Rosaline standing there, waiting anxiously.

"What was that?" she asked, "Did you see something?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "It was some sort of fight. Harry is going to be there."

"What happened?" she asked.

"I think someone's going to die," I said.


	36. Things of the Unknown

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I forgot to mention that I would be at my dad's for the weekend. Again, I am sorry. Anyways, here's another chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoy! Oh, wait before I forget...tomorrow there will be no updating. Because I'll be going to WARPED TOUR! WOO-HOO! I'm totally psyched! And I'll be there all day, so it will be AWESOME! EEP! Anyways, R&R!**

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><p>The crowds in the shop were thinning out, which meant opening day was almost over. Soon it was time to lock up. I told the last few people in the shop goodnight and locked the door behind them as they left. The sun had left the sky and the stars were starting to reveal themselves to the coming night. I slowly walked up the steps to the flat, lightly yawning and wanting to close my eyes. I tiredly dragged my feet closer to the door.<p>

I was about to open the door, but then stopped when I heard Fred and George's voices. This time I was sure to find out what they were hiding from me.

"I knew it!" Fred almost shouted. "You _are _afraid!"

"Are you happy now?" George snapped.

"Well surprisingly no," Fred sighed, "You shouldn't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid of _that_," George said, "I'm afraid of the results of it."

"Oh I see," Fred said, "You think she'll hate you."

I could hear George sigh deeply and started to pace around the room.

"Do you think she'll hate me?" George asked.

"Come on, George," Fred said, "This is Mum, we're talking about. It's possible that she might be mad for a moment, but then she'll be fine in the end. I don't see why she should be mad at all."

_Their mom? This has to do with their mom? What the hell did he do?_

"So, I should tell her?" George nervously asked.

"Of course you should," Fred said, "And don't drag it out and end up telling her next month."

_Please don't tell me he did something stupid._

"Fine," George sighed, "I'll tell her when she comes to visit."

"Good," Fred said.

I figured I heard enough, so I opened the door and walked in. Fred and George were standing across from each other. Fred had a look of relief and George seemed quite anxious.

"Well I had an exhausting first day," I sighed, "So I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight," George smiled.

I walked over to his side and kissed his cheek.

"Goodnight," I replied.

I walked to my room and collapsed onto my bed. I slowly closed my eyes and started to drift off to a dreamless sleep. Suddenly an odd flicker dashed in my eyes. My eyes flashed back open and I sat up in my bed. Then there was another flicker. And then another. Finally a full image absorbed my sight and brought me to another place. I was having another vision.

_"So you're not mad?" George asked hopefully._

_ "Oh, George!" Molly squealed, "How could I?"_

Molly then hugged her son tightly and laughed in joy. Whatever he wanted to tell her, obviously didn't make her mad at all. Or maybe it did and I just skipped to the good part. But anyways, George had nothing to worry about. And if Molly isn't flipping out about it, then maybe I shouldn't either.

I sighed in relief and rose from my bed. I changed into some comfy pajamas and then slipped under the covers. I then finally let myself enter my usual, peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Rosaline's POV

Everything was dark. I couldn't see anything. If I tried to stick my hand out in front of me, I wouldn't be able to see it. I couldn't tell the difference between closing my eyes and keeping my eyes opened. _That _was how dark it was.

Suddenly the darkness started to thin out. I could see some sort of image start to form in front of me. I soon found myself in a small park. It was a slightly cloudy day. The park looked abandoned. Not many kids were there to swing on the swing set or climb the rusty jungle gym.

I then turned around and saw a small 13-year-old girl. I immediately knew who it was; the electric blue hair gave it away. The younger version of me was sitting against the fence that bordered the park. A thin notebook was lying in her lap and a pen was in her hand. I smiled to myself when I remembered that I used to write poetry and short stories.

"Hey, Moriali!" someone shouted.

The younger Rosaline looked up from the pages. It looked like she was looking at me, but her eyes were looking _through _me. I was invisible to her. I turned around to find the source of the voice. Three kids were walking towards the younger me with scowls and smirks on their faces. I gasped and shook my head. I remembered this day; I remembered it almost too well. Lucas Kanner and his two misfit buddies.

Little Rosaline looked back at her notebook, pretending that she hadn't heard anything.

"Hey freak I'm talking to you!" Kanner spat.

"Yeah, he's talking to you!" one of Kanner's friends echoed.

"I heard you," younger Rosaline sighed, "I just didn't feel like responding."

"Well you should learn how to respect your superiors," Kanner said pompously, slightly sticking out his chest as if he something to be proud of.

"You're not talking about yourself, are you?" Rosaline snorted.

"Watch your mouth, Moriali," he snapped.

"What are you going to do, Kanner?" she asked, "You too chicken to actually hurt someone," she added while capping her pen and closing her notebook, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do."

Rosaline stood up and started to walk past them. But Kanner then pushed her forcefully back. Rosaline's back collided with the fence, making the metal quiver slightly. A sudden look of fear was in her eyes.

"You think I can't beat you up?" Kanner sneered, "You obviously thought wrong."

His fist suddenly swung at her stomach. Rosaline gasped for breath and her knees buckled. I winced at the memory of the pain. Kanner took another swing at her gut, now making her wheeze terribly.

"Stop it!" I screamed. "Stop it, you little prat! STOP!"

But my screaming didn't help. I couldn't do anything to help. I just had to watch the memory re-live itself.

Kanner's fist rose to the air again. It felt like slow motion as he was about to swing it back down. But then someone ran past me and charged at Kanner. He pulled him off of Rosaline and then pushed him towards the fence.

"What the hell dude?" Kanner asked.

"You shouldn't hit girls," the guy glared.

"It's none of your business," he hissed, "So stay out of it."

Kanner was about to walk past the guy. But the stranger pushed him back in his place.

"You're not going to hurt her," he said.

"Make me," Kanner smirked.

The guy's fist then met Kanner's jaw, giving Kanner a busted and bleeding lip. He shouted in pain and then staggered away. His friends followed behind him, scared to be beaten up by the stranger.

The stranger got down on his knees and brought his arms around Rosaline. He slowly brought her in a sitting position, with the fence to support her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rosaline wheezed, "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Do you think I'm going to let some jack-ass get away with hurting a girl?" he scoffed.

"Well I appreciate the whole 'knight-in-shining-armor-act,' but you shouldn't waste it on someone like me," Rosaline shrugged.

"Someone like you?" the guy asked curiously.

"They think I'm a freak," she sighed, "But it's true. I am a freak."

"No you're not," he shook his head.

"I'm different from the others," Rosaline said, "I'm not normal. I do things that only freaks do."

"I don't think you're freak," he said.

"Why?" Rosaline rolled her eyes.

"Because I consider myself a freak," he shrugged, "And I'm just like you."

Younger Rosaline raised her eyebrows curiously and then smirked in disbelief.

"That's not possible," she said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," Rosaline replied.

The stranger looked towards a small patch of wildflowers that were growing along the edge of the fence. Suddenly one of the wildflowers was plucked from the grass and floated towards Rosaline; all on it's own, as if an invisible person was holding it. Rosaline's eyes went wide in amazement and watched as the flower landed in her lap. She looked at the stranger sitting next to her, who was now smirking at her reaction.

"I thought I was the only one," Rosaline said.

"There are hundreds of people like us," he said, "We can all do something...special."

Rosaline eyes sparkled with enjoyment. She wasn't the only one that could do something known to be impossible. There were people just like her; and this brought a smile to her face.

"I'm Rosaline," she said.

"Blaine," the guy nodded.

She smiled wider as she met her new friend. What she didn't know was that the same friend would end up crushing her in the end. I watched sadly as the memory played in front of me. I thought I would forget this day. It was the day I first met Blaine. He became my best friend. He promised that he would take me away from this pathetically small town; and he did. He managed to get two tickets to Hong Kong. I thought that he was the greatest person ever. Of course he could be cocky and always admired glory, but there was so much more to him. Or so I thought.

Slowly the younger versions of me and Blaine started to fade away. Soon I was only person in the park. I was all alone, like I was in real life.

"Dwelling on the past, I see," someone said from behind me.

I turned around startled and saw the present form of Blaine leaning against the pole of the swing set. He was smirking at me, like he usually did.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well I didn't come here on purpose," he said, "It is _your _dream."

"Then go away," I snapped, "I never want to see you again."

I waited for him to disappear. But he didn't. He noticed that I was waiting and then started to laugh.

"What, did you think that you could say 'go away' and I'd be gone?" he chuckled, "It's not that easy, Rosie."

"Don't...call..me...that," I hissed.

"You used to like it when I called you that," he smirked.

"Well that was before," I said, "This is now. And _now_, I want you to get out of my life."

"What did I ever do to you?" he asked.

"You know what you did," I growled.

"Oh yeah," he laughed, "_That_."

"You think this is funny?" I asked. I could feel my eyes watering up with tears.

"Of course it's funny!" he said, "It's hilarious!"

I stared at him in utter shock. Is he seriously amused at my anger and sadness? A tear slowly rolled down my cheek. He didn't care. He didn't care at all what I felt or thought.

"I hate you," I whispered.

His laughter echoed throughout the empty park. It taunted me and haunted my mind. I could see the darkness return to me. But the laughter was still there.

I shot up from my bed when I woke up from my dream. It was more like a nightmare though. I sighed in relief and rest my head in hands. Suddenly my palms became wet. I pulled them away from my face and then immediately realized that I was crying. I quickly wiped away the tears. I ran my hands through my hair and then lied back down. I turned onto my side and brought my knees up to my chest. I had stopped crying, but there was still a quivering weakness in my breath.

* * *

><p>I didn't sleep well the rest of the night. I didn't sleep at all. I only tossed and turned and stared at the ceiling. I was afraid that if I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, the dream would come back.<p>

Morning came slowly. It felt like a lifetime until the sun finally rose. I tiredly dragged my feet from my bed and went down to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. I didn't eat anything. Once I finished my cup, I went back upstairs. I spent the whole day staring out the window.

I watched as the sun started to set; meaning that it was already evening. Sirius came up to tell me that there would be an Order meeting. And that meant I had to stay in my room. It wasn't like I was going to leave anyway.

I started to become bored just sitting in my room. So I got up from my seat on my bed and quietly sneaked out, towards the stairs and tried to listen in on meeting.

"I still don't think it's possible," Lupin sighed.

"Stop being narrow-minded, Remus!" Moody snapped, "We need to look into each possibility."

"I'll have to agree with Remus," Mrs. Weasley said, "It does _sound _possible, but it doesn't fit right."

"Of course it fits!" Moody said, "How can you not see that Harry could be possessed by Voldemort?"

_Possessed? As in Voldemort had full control of Harry?_

"I've had a possessed kid before, Mad-Eye," Mr. Weasley said, "And she said that if Harry was possessed then Harry wouldn't remember anything he was doing. He'd have long periods of black-outs."

Someone sighed in boredom. It sounded vaguely familiar to me.

"I believe we have discussed this quite enough," Snape said, "I think we should what to do with Potter's connection to the Dark Lord. Dumbledore has assigned me to have Occlumency lessons with the boy."  
>"And you're sure it will help Harry keep You-Know-Who out of his head?" Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly.<p>

"Of course," he said dully.

"You better be helping him," Sirius hissed, "Because if you're only doing this to mess with him even more, I'll make your nose even more crooked."

"Calm down, Black," Snape sighed, "I see that you're trying to be the parental role for Potter, but it is no use. It didn't even work for your own niece."

_What did you say? Why you little..._

I glared as I slowly made my way down the stairs and sat down at the bottom step. I listened with my ear very close to the door.

"That's none of your business, _Snivellus_," Sirius snapped.

"Stop your bickering, you two!" Mrs. Weasley ordered, "Stop being stubborn for once in your lives, set asides your differences and focus on what matters right at the moment!"

An awkward silence followed her outburst. It left an unsettling feeling in the room.

"Alright," Mr. Weasley said, breaking the silence, "So Severus, will Occlumency help Harry completely and fully?"

"I am a very talented in Legilimency," Snape said, "I could penetrate anyone's mind right now if I wanted to. With _my _help, Potter will be in full control."

"On anyone you say?" Moody asked curiously, "Then how about we see a practice lesson right here?"

"I don't think anyone's up to volunteering," Lupin said.

"Well Rosaline's right outside," Moody said, "Why don't we ask her?"

_Yeah ask Rosa - wait, that's me...SHIT!_

I jumped up from my seat and started to go back up the stairs when the door swung open. I stopped in place and stayed completely frozen.

"Rosaline," Sirius said.

I didn't say anything and kept still in my frozen position.

"Just because you're not moving doesn't mean I can't see you," Sirius sighed.

I then moved my arm from a mid-air position to down by my side.

"How about now?" I asked.

"Rosaline," he said, starting to get irritated.

"Fine," I groaned.

I turned around and walked back down the stairs. I entered the room, watching all eyes gaze on me.

"Ah, yes," Snape sighed when he recognized me, "Miss Moriali of Ravenclaw. And I thought Miss Lovegood was odd," he added eying my blue hair.

"Yes, her hair is blue!" Tonks suddenly exclaimed, "Look at my hair! It's purple!"

"Thank you, Tonks," I said politely, "But I'm okay. At least my hair is _clean_."

Sirius stifled a laugh as Snape glared at me terribly. Hey, it's not my fault he doesn't use shampoo!

"This will be pleasant," he then smirked.

Snape pulled out his wand in one swift movement. Within seconds he was pointing it towards me.

"_Legilimens!_" he said.

I waited for something to happen...but nothing did. I curiously looked over myself, seeing if something changed.

"So..." I paused, "What was _supposed _to happen?"

Sirius bit down on his knuckle, still trying not to laugh. Snape looked at me shocked. Everyone was surprised. I didn't get was supposed to happen, so I just stood there confused.

"Maybe it's because she's a muggle?" Tonks shrugged.

"The spell even works on muggles," Snape sneered, "I shall try again. _Legilimens!_"

Once again, nothing happened. Sirius was now as curious as everyone else. I was curious too honestly. Why wasn't it working?


	37. When You're Gone

**A/N: Okay I also forgot to mention that I wrote over the weekend...so, yeah. I'll have another one posted _right_ after this one is posted.**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

No matter how hard I thought, I still couldn't think of why Snape's spell didn't work. It couldn't be because of me being a Shadow; Shadows were never known to have a mind-shielding power, if that's what it was. Maybe his wand was cracked or something. There had to be a logical explanation to this.

Sirius, Moody and Lupin tried asking me what happened; if I knew anything behind it or if it had to do with my powers, but I only shook my head and said "I don't know. I've never seen that happen before." If I knew anything I would have told them.

I spent that night tossing and turning like I did the night before, only for a different reason. I had only realized until now that I hadn't thought about Blaine for a while. I was slightly relieved but also upset, since I brought him back up again.

The dream had still haunted my thoughts. It drowned out any other trouble or worry that I had on my mind. It forced me to think about it and only it. I wished I could think about something else, or just do something to take my mind off of it.

I looked out my window and saw that the sun was setting. Maybe I could step outside for just a moment; so I could breathe in the fresh air and clear my mind. I pulled on my shoes and a dark hoodie. I quietly went down the stairs and managed to get past Sirius without being caught. I pulled the hood over my head and slipped out the door.

The slightly chilled air filled my lungs pleasantly. A faint breeze ran through a few strands of my blue hair that were peeking out of the hood. I walked down the few steps in front of the house and peacefully walked down the sidewalk. I reminded myself a few times to not walk too far, but being outside felt great. I had stayed hidden for so long that I almost forgot the sky looked like at sunset. I smiled as I admired the pink and red color that spilled over the sky like knocked over buckets of paint.

I had enjoyed my walk so much that I hadn't realized that someone was following me. When I finally acknowledged that fact, I started to slow down my pace. I carefully turned around, but surprisingly saw no one.

That's when I felt someone run up from behind me and quickly grip onto my wrist. Before I could scream, the stranger cover my mouth with his free hand and pulled me away to the nearest alley. I struggled against his grip, but he finally let me go. I pushed myself away from him and turned to punch the asshole in the face, but then I gasped.

"Hey Rosie," Blaine smirked.

"What the FUCK, Blaine?" I shrieked, "Is that how you greet people now? You stalk them, snatch them when their not looking and then drag them into an alley?"

"Calm down," he rolled his eyes, "It's not like I hurt you."

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked, "Are you here to take me in like that foul toad-faced bitch did?"

"Surprisingly, no," he said.

I was surprised, too. The moron works for Division, so why doesn't he turn me in? I raised my eyebrows curiously and crossed my arms.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

"I just wanted to talk," he said, "We haven't had a chance to do that recently."

"Yeah, I was too busy," I said sarcastically, "You know, since I was kidnapped by _your _people."

"God, you really don't want to see me, do you?" he chuckled.

"Oh, it's that obvious?" I hissed.

"Come on, Rosie -" he said.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," I snapped.

"What did I do to you?" he asked.

"You know _exactly _what you did," I told him.

"Really? I don't think so."

"DON'T LIE TO ME! YOU DO KNOW, SO DON'T PLAY DUMB! I HONESTLY CAN'T BELIEVE YOU RIGHT NOW! HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?"

He didn't reply. He only stared at me with no expression or emotion.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW COULD BE SUCH A FUCKING ASSHOLE? HOW CAN YOU LIVE YOURSELF?" I shouted, with tears starting to fill my eyes, "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALK IN AND EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE? AS IF NOTHING EVER FUCKING HAPPENED? WELL YOU'RE WRONG!"

He looked down at his feet, which were nervously kicking at the dirt. He looked at back up at me in silence. A single tear ran down my cheek as I stared at him in anger.

"I hate you," I whispered.

He still didn't say anything. I guessed that he had nothing to say. So I walked out of the alley and ran back home. I finally reached Sirius's door and quietly walked back in. I tried so hard not to cry too loudly as I tip-toed up the stairs. I made it to my room and shut the door behind me. Then I finally let the tears flow freely. I collapsed on the ground and cried until all of the tears had left my body.

The sad part out of all of it was that even though I hated Blaine, a small part of me still loved him.

Blaine's POV

"I hate you," she whispered as a tear streamed down the side of her face.

I felt my heart drop to my stomach. I swallowed down the forming lump in my throat and continued to not say anything. She stared at me with giant watery eyes and then ran off. I could feel my heart breaking more and more the further she ran away. I leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground. I furiously ran my hands through my hair and breathed away the tears that were dying to leave my eyes.

_Suck it up, Blaine. Don't be a wimp. Guys don't cry._

I wiped my eyes to keep myself from crying. The memory of Rosaline crying is probably what made me want to cry as well. And then her saying that she hated me made me want to cry even more. I felt like such a wimp even when I thought about crying.

Sometimes I wished I could go back in time and start it all over. I wished that I had never betrayed her. Then I could still be by her side, and hold her when she got scared and cheer her up when she was upset. It would be like we were still 13 and Division didn't want to hunt us down. But this time I would have enough guts to tell her that I loved her.

But what would have happened if I didn't join Division? Would she still be alive? Being a part of Division had its ups and downs; they were the enemy but they said that they wouldn't kill Rosaline if I joined them. And then there were be times when I missed her terribly, which reminded me why I joined. But if I hadn't had joined she wouldn't hate me right now. Why did it all have to be so damn complicated?

I rested my head on my knees and closed my eyes. One thought kept running through my head over and over again: _I love her. I love her. I love her. I love her..._

I got back on my feet and walked out of the alley. I looked towards the sidewalk, hoping that Rosaline would still be there, but she wasn't. I sighed and then slowly walked back to Division headquarters. The whole time on the way back I mentally hit myself in face and told myself how much of a dickhead I was.

Aaralyn's POV

It was the start of another day at the shop. Business was going through the roof for us. Kids really did love George and Fred's products. It's almost like they live for it. But it was fun working there. Well it was until this morning.

"No," I said.

"Please?" George asked.

"No," I repeated.

"Please?" George asked again.

"No," I said once again.

"Please? Please? Please?" George begged.

"No!" I said, "And that's final!"

"Why not?" he groaned.

"Two reasons," I said, "One, it's ugly. And two, it's freakin' _pink_!"

"It's not that bad," George rolled his eyes, "And it's magenta not pink."

"No offense, but that sounded really gay," I said.

"Shut up," he said, "Why can't you just wear it?"

"I already told you why," I said.

"Please?" he asked again.

"No," I said, "There's no way in sweet hell that I will wear that as my uniform!"

"Come on," George begged, "Please just wear it."

"No," I repeated.

"Wear it!" he ordered.

I raised my eyebrows in part annoyance and part shock and crossed my arms. George's face went from frustrated to 'oh-crap-I-know-that-face.'

"Sorry," he said, but more in a form in a question.

He weakly smiled but my expression still didn't change.

"I'm not wearing it," I said.

"..._Fine_," he said.

"Thank you," I sarcastically smiled.

I walked past him and towards the storage room. I pulled out a few more boxes of Anti Gravity Hats and walk to the ladder. I pushed it to the side and slid to the half-empty shelf of Anti Gravity Hats. One by one I place the ones in my hand onto the shelf.

I stepped down from the ladder and then walked to the counter, where a few kids were waiting to pay for their items. A two young boys walked up to me and handed me a few things.

"Two knuts and seven sickles," I said.

They handed me the money and I put their purchases in a bag.

"Have a nice day," I smiled sweetly.

They grinned back and walked out the door.

"Oh so you're nice to them, but you treat me like dirt," George said, making me turn around.

"Man up," I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Hey Aaralyn!" Verity shouted from the other side of the shop.

A few days ago we hired another employee to help out a little. She was near Fred and George's age and was great company when Fred and George were...well, Fred and George.

"Yeah?" I yelled back.

"We're running low on love potions," she said.

"I'm on it," I said.

As I walked by George, but then stopped. I stood on my tip-toes and kissed him lovingly on the lips. Once I pulled away I smiled brightly at him.

"Better?" I asked.

"Maybe," he smirked.

I giggled and then went back to the storage room. I returned quickly with two handfuls of love potions and poured them into the pink, lily-shaped pot. Several young witches were swarming the shelves of the WonderWitch section. I was so glad I had thought of this idea, but Verity helped me think of most of the products.

"So I'm guessing you heard about the uniforms?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, "But they sound so ghastly."

"They are!" I said, "But I managed to get George to reconsider the idea."

"Thank Merlin," she sighed in relief, "Maybe they'll think of something more suitable...like scarlet or green. I don't care, any color _besides _magenta."

"Agreed," I chuckled.

I then walked back to the cash register and spent the rest of the day checking out purchases and refilling shelves. Finally it was closing time, which meant I could go upstairs and relax.

"I'll lock up," George offered.

I handed him the keys and smiled in thanks. I tiredly walked up the stairs and opened the door to the flat. As I walked in, I felt a sudden light-headedness. So, I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. I leaned against the kitchen counter and slowly drank. But I still felt light-headed. Then I got a head-ache. My vision occasionally blurred as I gently rubbed my forehead. I then winced when I felt a terrible, piercing pain in my head, making me drop my glass. I heard it shatter against the ground. I felt my knees growing weak, I so I grabbed onto the counter to keep my on feet.

"Aaralyn?" I heard a fading voice ask me.

But then the pain grew stronger. I gasped and fell to the ground. My vision was completely gone and so was my strength. I could feel someone holding onto me. Someone was shouting but it sounded like they were hundreds of yards away.

Suddenly my sight returned, but I was in a different scene. It was a large, dark, empty room; except for the golden fountain that stood in the middle. I looked to my left and saw Dumbledore and Harry. Another person was there, too. He was bald and ghostly pale. I immediately knew it was Voldemort. But then he disappeared into dust. I felt like I missed something though. Before I knew it, Harry was on the ground, twitching and wincing. What was wrong with him?

Dumbledore leaned over him and was telling him something, but I couldn't hear what. I suddenly felt myself zooming in on Harry. His eyes screamed with pain as he shook and gasped. The lightning scar on his forehead was really red, and probably was giving him severe pain since he was grabbing onto his forehead.

A faint voice started to fill my ears. Slowly the voice became clearer and louder.

"Aaralyn!" someone was shouting, "Aaralyn! Can you hear me? Look at me, Aaralyn! _Aaralyn_!"

My sight went out again, but quickly it came back. I looked up to see Fred and George looking over me. Fred looked freaked out and George looked extremely worried, as if he thought I was dying or something.

"Are you okay?" he asked, "What happened?"

"I-I-I saw s-something," I weakly stuttered.

"You saw something?" Fred repeated, "As in, into the future."

I nodded in reply.

"What did you see?" George asked.

"I don't know," I said, "But I think it was Harry's death."

George and Fred gawked at me with their jaws hanging open. I quickly got up from the floor and ran to the door.

"I have to go find him," I said.

"No, you can't leave," George said worriedly.

"I'm fine," I rolled my eyes.

As I reached for the door I saw that my hand was shaking terribly. I grasped onto the doorknob, but once I turned it, my knees gave out again. George's arms quickly wrapped around before I hit the ground. He carefully brought me over to the couch.

"You're not leaving," he ordered.

"This only temporary," I said, "I'll be fine. But Harry's in trouble! We have to go find him before he gets hurt."

"Harry can take care of himself," Fred said, "He always has. But you're in no state to go out and about."

"But I have to," I said, "If I don't he could -"

"Stop being a bloody hero for 10 minutes," George begged, "_Please_."

I looked into his eyes and saw that he was worried and loved me too much to watch me risk my life again.

"...Okay," I sighed in defeat.

"Thank you," he said.

He then kissed my forehead and walked into the kitchen. I glared at the ground, which Fred noticed immediately.

"He's only worried that you'll get hurt," Fred said, "Just let him calm down over the fact you fainted in the kitchen."

I smiled weakly and nodded in agreement. George returned and sat down next to me, protectively wrapping his arm around me. I leaned my head against his chest and then realized that I had forgotten how tired I was.

There was a faint ringing sound from downstairs, which meant someone was at the door. Whoever it was, was really impatient because then they knocked very fast and then rang the bell again.

"I'll go tell them we're closed," Fred said as he walked downstairs.

I felt my eyelids starting to grow heavy. I slowly closed my eyes and started to go to sleep, when unfortunately a loud shrieking noise from downstairs woke me up. It became louder and louder as it came to the door. The door swung open and revealed Molly and Arthur with Fred right behind them. Molly had watery eyes and Arhtur's usual giddy face was rather solemn.

"Oh George!" Molly gasped, "Thank Merlin you three are still here! We thought you ran off with the others!"

"Others?" I asked curiously.

"Dad, what is Mum talking about?" Fred asked impatiently.

"Harry and few of other student broke into the Ministry of Magic," Arthur explained, "Including Ginny and Ron."

"What happened?" George asked.

"A group of Death Eaters ambushed them in the Department of Mysteries," Arthur said as Molly wailed miserably.

"Are they alright?" I asked.

"All of the kids got out safely," Arthur said, "A few members of the Order came to help. But..."

Molly's crying then became louder when Arthur didn't finish his sentence. If none of the kids got hurt then why was she crying? And what was that I saw if Harry didn't die?

"What happened?" I asked as I stood on my feet.

"S-Sirius," Arthur said, "He's gone."

My eyes widened as I felt my heart drop to my gut. My own uncle, my only flesh and blood...was dead? My eyes started to water and my lower lip started quivering.

"N-No," I stuttered, "H-H-He couldn't be. He's n-not..._dead_?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Aaralyn," Arthur said.

"H-How?" I whispered, "Why? I-It c-can't be true. He can't be!"

"He is," he said, "I am sorry."

"Aaralyn," George said.

I then ran to my room before I could let the tears fall. I slammed the door behind me and then cried. It felt like hundreds of tears were running down my face. I curled up against the wall and cried into my hands. No matter how hard I tried to stop myself, the tears just kept coming. I couldn't believe he was dead. I wouldn't believe it. I didn't even get to know him well enough. I had just been reunited with my family...and then it disappeared before my eyes, as if it never existed.


	38. Mourning and New Homes

**A/N: Awww. The last chapter was so sad! *grabs a box of tissues and dabs eyes* Nah, I'm just kidding, I didn't cry. I can't cry. I have no tears; I had them surgically removed. Again, I am joking.**

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><p>I was standing in the Ministry of Magic. It was quiet and empty, like a ghost-town. I tried moving, but my feet felt like they were glued to the floor. Suddenly there was a faint cackling from somewhere in the building. It came closer and clearer and louder, until I could finally hear what they were saying.<p>

"_I killed Sirius Black!_" a woman sang, "_I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black!_"

It echoed throughout the room. The woman then screeched in laughter. I turned my head, trying to find out who it was. Then I heard a cackle from behind me. I turned as much of my body as possible, but saw no one. Then the same cackle repeated but in front of me. I turned again, but still saw no one.

_Where are you?_

Black smoke exploded in front of me and then a darkly dressed woman appeared. She had long, wild, black hair and heavily lidded eyes. She was pretty yet seemed insane, which blocked the beauty. Why was she so familiar?

She smiled evilly and then cackled again. Her delusional eyes glared at me as she started to circle me. She then hummed a tune that followed the "I killed Sirius Black" song. Then it hit me; she was Bellatrix Lestrange. She was Sirius's cousin.

"You killed him?" I whispered.

She laughed again and proudly smiled.

"You killed your own cousin?" I shrieked, "You insane bitch!"

She then glared at me.

"Don't talk to me that way you filthy muggle!" she spat.

She pulled out a wand and pointed it at me.

"_Crucio!_" she cursed.

Pain went through my entire body and I screamed loudly.

"_Crucio!_" she repeated.

I collapsed onto the ground and continued to scream. The unforgettable pain of a thousand knives repeatedly stabbing my body once again returned. It wasn't hard to forget the Cruciatus Curse if you've experienced it. I kept screaming and Bellatrix continued to throw the curse on me.

"What's the matter?" she asked in mock sympathy, "A weak little muggle like yourself can't fight back? Let me help. _CRUCIO!_"

I let out an even louder scream as a more sevire pain exploded in my body. The sound of my scream bounced of the walls of the Ministry of Magic. Bellatrix laughed as I suffered on the ground.

"Aaralyn!" a new voice shouted, "Aaralyn! Wake up, Aaralyn!"

The image of Bellatrix standing over me disappeared. My eyes shot opened and I saw George standing over me. My forehead broke into a cold sweat and my cheeks were covered in tears. I panted heavily as my terrified eyes stared at George. I felt another tear fall down my face, which George quickly wiped away.

"It's okay," he whispered, "It's okay. It's not real. It didn't happen."

I slowly nodded and lied back down, but I didn't close my eyes. George noticed that I didn't go back to sleep. He then slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms protectively around me. He kissed my forehead and pulled me closer to me.

"I'm right here," he whispered.

I nuzzled my head into his chest and then felt myself slowly drift back to sleep. Luckily, this time I didn't dream of anything.

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><p>For the next two days, I didn't leave my room. I only sat in chair by the window and looked outside. My face was stained with dry tears and my body felt like it was naturally cold. I had bundled myself in a sweater, but I still felt so cold. It was as if a part of me died with Sirius. It was hard to get over the fact he was gone. It wasn't fair to finally find my family for one moment and then loose it the next.<p>

It was the middle of the day. The sun was in the sky, shining brightly down on the street of Diagon Alley. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. It looked like a beautiful Sunday to anyone else; but to me it was torture. Everyone else was living happily, and I was cooped up in my room, not wanting to see anyone.

There was a faint knock on my door. It slowly opened to reveal George with a mug in his hand. He handed it to me and then walked back out, closing the door behind him. I wrapped hands around the warm mug of tea and slowly sipped it. I looked down into the cup and stared into the dark liquid. I sub-consciously ran my finger around the edge of the mug, making a continuous circle.

I set the cup on the window sill and then continued to stare out the window. I rested my elbow on the arm of the chair and leaned my head against the palm of my hand. I saw a small flock of birds flying in the sky. They moved together as a group for a while and then separated and thinned out. One small group kept flying forward and the other flew to the right. And from one of the groups, a bird flew away from. It flapped its small wings and landed onto the roof of the building across from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It hopped and pecked and sang happily. The bird then spread out its wings and lifted it self into the air. But instead of following its group, it went a whole different direction. It would be on its own.

Another knock on the door interrupted my train of thought. The door then opened but didn't show George like I had expected, Lupin came in instead. He faintly smiled and nodded. I felt like I was too weak to do anything so I only stared at him.

"Hello Aaralyn," he said.

He awkwardly looked around my room and then noticed the starry ceiling above.

"His secret obsession was Astronomy, you know," he said.

I immediately knew who he was talking about. The thought of Sirius discussing constellations and the alining of planets humored me, but I didn't laugh. I couldn't laugh.

"He wouldn't tell anyone, though," Lupin said, "He had a reputation to keep up in Hogwarts when he was a student. He only told me and James."

I weakly nodded to show that I was listening.

"His favorite constellation was Orion," he said, "He could tell the entire story of Orion forwards and backwards," Lupin then chuckled at the memory, "Do you know the story?"

I nodded again. Surprisingly, I could tell the story backwards and forwards, too. Because Orion was also _my _favorite constellation.

"I never saw Sirius for a romantic," Lupin said, "But Orion did bring it out of him."

I bit my lip when I heard his name, but managed to push myself past the pain. I then stared at Lupin curiously.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. That was the first time I talked that day.

"I thought it would be nice for you to get to know him," Lupin smiled.

I nodded again. I then looked down at the ground and watched rays of sunlight spill onto the wood floor.

"You know," Lupin said, "When James died, Harry's dad, I felt as miserable as you do right now. I know where you are right now. I thought it wasn't fair for him to go like that. It also wasn't fair for Harry, to never know his dad; just like it isn't fair for you to not know your uncle. But James died putting up a fight; just like Sirius did."

What was he trying to do?

"The point is," Lupin explained, "Sirius would have wanted to go this way. He always thought dying of old age had no adventure. He probably expected his death to come later in life, but it came the way he wanted it to. If you look at it a certain way, Sirius is finally free. He doesn't have to hide anymore."

He made it sound like Sirius never died. It was as if he only moved to a different country and forgot to say goodbye. That made me think of the last time I saw him.

"I didn't get to say goodbye," I whispered.

"No one did," Lupin said, "The Killing Curse is the quickest way to die. There's no time to say goodbye."

"The last time I saw him," I said, "He threatened my boyfriend he would kill him if he broke my heart or got me pregnant. I was thinking: why is he so protective of me? Why can't he lay off for 5 seconds? I wasn't thinking about how lucky I was to have him or I finally have someone to look out for me. I didn't even say goodbye then. I didn't say 'I love you' either. I didn't say anything."

I felt more tears of sorrow surface, but I breathed them away. I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my sweater just in case I did cry.

"Oh," Lupin said, stretching out the 'o', "That makes sense."

I looked at him confused and raised an eyebrow.

"I visited him around the time you left," he said, "And all he would say was he wanted to crush this arrogant, cocky, horny, ginger bastard...I guess he was talking about George. And then he accidentally set the kettle on fire because he was too distract."

I stared at him in shock. And then suddenly I felt something odd and unusual crawl up my throat. Then it spill from my mouth; laughter. I laughed softly at first, but then it grew louder. Lupin soon laughed with me. I leaned over on the chair from my sides hurting as I continued to laugh. The idea of Sirius muttering and burning the kettle...it was so like him to do that.

The laughter soon settled. I then felt a wet tear fall from my face. I wiped it away and then stared at the wet smear on my fingers. Was it tears of laughter or tears of grief? I then realized that I was laughing and my faint smile turned into a frown.

"It's alright," Lupin said, "He would have laughed, too."

I looked up at him with watery eyes and then...I smiled. For the first time in a while, I smiled.

"Thank you," I said in realization.

He nodded and then left the room. I looked back to the window with a whole new perspective on the view. I felt happier when I looked at it now. It was all different to me; it was more alive than I had seen before. I nodded to myself and then stood up from the chair. My bones ached as I stretched and started to move around. I picked up the now cold mug from the window sill and walked out of the room.

I walked into the kitchen and dumped the tea in the sink. Once I set down the mug, I turned around to see Fred staring at me in shock. I stood there, not moving and looked awkwardly back at him. He didn't say anything, he only stare. Finally it got irritating.

"Would you knock it off?" I snapped.

"Yeah," he nodded, "You're back."

Then the door to downstairs opened. George came in and then immediately became startled when he saw me in the kitchen. He didn't know whether to say something or to keep walking.

"Uh.." he paused, "Are you...okay?"

"You make it sound like I have a disease," I said, sounding offended.

He was taken back at the sound of my voice. He was still confused and still didn't know what to do. I lightly chuckled and then walked up to him. I hugged him tightly and he soon hugged back. I pulled away a little, only to look into his eyes, and then kissed his cheek.

"I'm fine," I smiled.

He smiled and then kissed me passionately on the mouth.

"That's good," he whispered against my lips.

"_Ew_," Fred groaned, stretching the word out so it could last forever.

Rosaline's POV

I thought Sirius was never going to come back home. When the door had finally opened I found Tonks and Lupin at the door instead. Sirius had died. I was in utter shock and then became worried when I thought about Harry and Aaralyn; they were both devastated.

I had heard that Aaralyn hadn't left her room for two days after Sirius died. But now she was on her feet again and at peace. Whatever happened must have worked really well. I was too busy focusing on my packing to think about anything else. I had to leave Grimmauld since the owner was now...gone.

Everything was set up and together. I was ready to go; and right on time since seconds later, the doorbell rang. The portrait of Sirius's mother screeched loudly at the sound.

"Can it!" I shouted as I shut the curtains of her painting.

"Goddamn, this thing needs chains and lock," I then muttered.

I walked to the door and saw Tonks waiting behind it. Her face was unusually sad looking and her hair was short and mousy brown. She didn't look like the usual Tonks. But she managed to smile anyway.

"You ready to go?" she asked.

I nodded and grabbed my trunk. I walked out of the house, saying one last mental goobye as I closed the door. We stood together at the bottom step and then Tonks held out her hand.

"Hold on tight," she said, "It'll be a bit of a rush."

I held onto her hand and held tight onto my trunk with my other hand. Suddenly I felt as if I was being tugged roughly and quickly and then I couldn't see Grimmauld anymore. In the next moment we were on a what looked like a field. I looked in front of me to see an oddly shaped house.

"Welcome to the Burrow," Tonks lightly smiled.

I walked forward and curiously gazed at the home. So this is where the Weasleys lived. It was pretty huge. Tonks knocked on the door and it quickly swung open. Mrs. Weasley was on the other side, wearing a flowery apron.

"Hello Rosaline," she smiled, "Come in. Let me take your trunk."

I walked in and saw the strangest things. A pair of knitting needles were knitting a scarf by themselves. A clock with nine hands on it and words instead of numbers sat in the kitchen. On each hand there was a picture of someone in the family. Each hand was put on a certain place according to what they were doing at the time. George, Fred and Mr. Weasley were on the 'Working' spot. Ron and Ginny were underneath 'School.' It was an interesting way to keep track of the family. The Brady Bunch should have had that clock.

"It's not much," Mrs. Weasley sighed, "But it's home."

"I love it," I giggled.

Of course I loved it. Besides Grimmauld, this was the only real home I had.

"Well you'll be staying Percy's room," Mrs. Weasley smiled.

She then pulled out her wand, gave it a flick and then my trunk lifted off into the air. It then slowly floated up the stairs next to the kitchen.

"Just follow the trunk, dear," she said.

I nodded and then walked up the stairs, with the floating trunk in front of me. It felt like the staircase traveled for miles. We finally made it to Percy's door. I opened the door, letting the trunk float in. It then dropped on the floor. I opened the trunk and started to unpack my things and put them in the empty drawers. Once I was finished, I looked around the room. I had never met Percy, so I didn't know what he was like. He graduated before Aaralyn and I started Hogwarts. But from what I saw in the room, he seemed like a snob. I didn't complain, though; it's just a room. At least it wasn't pink.

I walked back down the stairs and found Mrs. Weasley still in the kitchen. She looked up at me and then smiled sweetly, like she always does.

"You look a bit peaky," she said as she looked up and down at me, "How about I fix you something to eat?"

"Sure," I shrugged.

"Sit down," she offered.

I sat down at the long table and in a flash Mrs. Weasley handed me a bowl of french onion soup. She then handed me a few slices of bread.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Well eat up," she nodded.

I slowly took spoonfuls of the hot soup. The hot, creamy liquid smoothly ran down my throat and left a warm tingling feeling on my tongue. I finished the whole bowl and sighed quietly in relaxation of having a full stomach. I heard an odd ticking noise from behind me. I turned and saw one of the hands on the clock turn to 'Traveling.' It was Mr. Weasley. A few seconds later the hand then turned to 'Home.' The door then opened.

"Molly, I'm home," Mr. Weasley called.

"In the kitchen, dear," Mrs. Weasley called back.

Mr. Weasley then walked into the kitchen and noticed me right away.

"Hello Rosaline," he smiled, "I see you got here safely."

"Sit down," Mrs. Weasley told him, "I'll make you some dinner."

"Is that onion soup I smell?" he asked as he sniffed the air.

"It sure is," Mrs. Weasley said.

Mr. Weasley grinned happily and sat down across from me. Mrs. Weasley handed him a bowl of soup, and then she took mine away. At first I thought she was going to wash it, but instead she handed me another full bowl of french onion soup. Did she really expect me to eat _another _bowl? I didn't want to argue so I helped myself to the soup.

"This is definitely a first," Mr. Weasley said excitedly, "A muggle living in our own home. I must say, I am pleased. I am fascinated by the muggle world. How do you manage to go through an _entire _day without magic?"

"I don't know," I said awkwardly, "I guess I was just born to live that way."

"But I never knew there were certain muggles with special powers," he said, "It's amazing, it's almost like magic. And I learned that you are put under categories according to the power. So what would you be?"

"I'm a Shadow," I said, "Which means I can erase memory and block off traces."

"Block off traces?" Mr. Weasley asked curiously.

"If you were trying to look for someone, I would be able to hide them easily," I said.

"Amazing," he commented, "Muggles are quite interesting."

"I think wizards and witches are a lot more interesting than someone like me," I shrugged.

"I guess it depends on the person on what's interesting," Mr. Weasley smiled.

I nodded in agreement and then set down my spoon. I looked out the window and saw that it was dark out.

"Well I think I'll go to bed," I said, "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"It's our pleasure," Mrs. Weasley said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," I replied.

I walked up the stairs and walked into my new room. I closed the door behind me and then changed into a pair of cotton shorts and a loose t-shirt. I slipped into the covers and fell asleep instantly. The whole time I was asleep, I thought about what life would be like now that I was living with the Weasleys.


	39. Meeting Bill and Fleur

**A/N: Happy birthday to ME! Yeah, it's my birthday! Woo-hoo! I'm a year older! Or as my brother says: I'm a year closer to dying! But that makes things really depressing so I just hit him upside the head and tell him to shut up. Anyways, sorry for the delay but as you know I went to WARPED TOUR on Tuesday! That was AWESOME! And then the next day my dad took me to another concert! I saw the Oli Brown Band. They're this blues band and they're amazing! And the lead singer and guitarist, Oli Brown, looks like a younger version of Sirius Black. I'm serious he's British, has long curly hair and he's got sort of a swag (hahaha). He was also wearing all black when I met him which made me think "Sirius Black." And he signed my arm! So cool! So I'm officially a concert junkie, as my mom calls me. But I'm starting to ramble so I'll shut up and you can read.**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

Today was the last day of school at Hogwarts. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley decided to bring me with them when they left to pick up Ron and Ginny. We drove in muggle cars that were rented from the Ministry. Once we reached King's Cross Station, we went straight to Platforms 9 and 10. It had been a while since I ran through the wall that led to Platform 9 3/4.

Mrs. Weasley and I went straight through the wall and was greeted by the crowded platform of 9 3/4. A scarlet train pulled into the station, smoke pouring out from the top, and soon students poured out from it. It wasn't long until we found two redheads jump out from the train.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley called, "Ginny!"

They turned to the voice and waved. They ran over with their trunks in their hands. But once they reached us, their eyes went wide.

"Rosaline!" Ginny squealed and then hugged me tightly.

"Oh, okay," I said, startled, "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked as he then hugged me.

"I'm staying with you guys," I said.

"For how long?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"I don't know," I shrugged, "Maybe forever. Or until I get a place of my own."

"How come?" Ron asked.

"Well I used to live with Aaralyn and Sirius," I said, "But then Aaralyn moved in with George and Fred. And then...well you know."

Ron and Ginny sadly nodded their heads when they realized I was talking about Sirius.

"And since Grimmauld doesn't belong to me, your parents offered to give me a place to stay," I explained.

"This will be great!" Ginny smiled, "It will be like having a sister."

I laughed and nodded in agreement. Ron didn't look that excited, probably because there would be _another _girl in the house.

"Oh, don't be so down in the dumps," I told him.

Ron smirked and then his eyes lit up for some reason.

"Come on," he said, "We'll be right back, Mum."

Ron then pulled me away from the Weasleys. He dragged me somewhere in the station. Finally he stopped and then I noticed Hermione and Harry in front of us. Hermione gasped and Harry's eyes went wide when he saw me. Hermione immediately hugged me, accidentally obstructing my airline.

"Can't...breathe," I wheezed.

"Sorry," she giggled, "What are you doing here?"

"Came with the Weasleys to pick up Ginny and Ron," I said.

"Why would you do that?" Harry asked.

"Apparently she's living in my house now," Ron said.

"I was wondering where you were going to live since..." Hermione didn't finish her sentence and looked over at Harry, who was looking slightly sad at the moment.

I nodded silently. Suddenly I felt a pair of eyes burning on me. I turned my head slightly and then felt my stomach twist. Malfoy was staring at me. I quickly looked away and tried to pay attention to the conversation.

"You okay?" Hermione asked when she noticed my expression.

"Yeah," I lied, "I'm fine."

"Ron!" Mr. Weasley shouted, "Rosaline! We need to go!"

"Well, see you soon," I said.

Ron and I returned to the Weasleys and then left for the Burrow. Ginny and Ron seemed relieved to finally be home. Ginny immediately dragged me to her room. I helped her unpack and then she had me sit down across from her on her bed.

"So," she started, "Remember when Aaralyn said that Dean would ask me out?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Well he did!" Ginny squealed.

"Congrats," I smirked.

"Thanks," she smiled, "He's really sweet and it's great being with him!"

"That sounds great," I smiled.

"Well what about you?" she asked, "Anyone on your mind?"

"No," I shook my head, "And I'm planning on keeping it that way."

"Oh, why not?" she asked.

"Because I don't have time to think about guys," I sighed.

"There's always time for guys," Ginny said.

"Well for you there is," I said, "And besides, I don't think anyone is interested in me."

"Uh...yeah, I don't know about that.." she drifted off.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said quickly.

"Tell me," I ordered.

"Fine!" she immediately gave in, "It might sound weird...but I think Malfoy's got his eye on you."

"What?" I scoffed, "That sounds ridiculous."

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I noticed him looking at you a couple of times. Maybe he was glaring or maybe because he likes you. It's just a theory."

"Well think logically," I said, "Why would Draco Malfoy, a snooty, pureblood Slytherin be interested in _me_?"

"Beats me," Ginny sighed.

"Exactly," I said.

I then sighed and stared down at the ground. I then thought about the idea of Malfoy liking me. It was almost as ridiculous as Blaine liking me. But then that thought made me think about Blaine more. Then I zoned out from there.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.

"Huh?" I asked, snapping back to reality, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Wait a sec," she said, looking into my eyes, "There _is _someone, isn't there?"

"Uh..n-no," I stuttered.

"Yes!" Ginny squealed, "Merlin's beard! Who is it?"

"I don't like him," I quickly said.

"Who?" she asked.

"...You don't know him," I said.

"Oh, so it's not Malfoy," she nodded, "Thank goodness for that. Is he a Hufflepuff? Ravenclaw?"

"No," I said, "He doesn't go to Hogwarts."

"So he's a muggle?" she asked, "Then you're right, I don't know him. But anyways, who is he?"

"He's just this guy I met a while ago," I said, "And I _don't _like him."

"Yeah, whatever," she rolled her eyes, "What's his name?"

"Blaine," I said.

"Oooh," Ginny giggled, "He sounds mysterious."

"Trust me," I scoffed, "There's no mystery about Blaine. He's exactly who you'd think he is the first time you look at him."

"And that would be?" Ginny begged for me to continue.

"Arrogant, cocky, self-confident...basically a complete asshole," I listed.

"That sounds like a Slytherin to me," Ginny smirked.

"If he was a wizard, he would be in Slytherin," I chuckled.

"So what's so interesting about him that makes you like him?" she then asked.

"I don't like him," I repeated.

"Right, and I'm half unicorn," she said sarcastically.

"Alright," I sighed, "_Maybe_, just a small part of me likes him."

"So does he like you back?" she asked.

"Obviously not," I said, "He proved _that _a long time ago."

"What did he do?" she asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," I said.

"Okay," she sighed.

"Girls!" Mr. Weasley called, "Come downstairs, please!"

Ginny and I nodded at each other and then went downstairs as Mr. Weasley ordered. At the bottom of the stairs I saw a pair of unfamiliar faces. A tall man stood next to Mr. Weasley. He was rather handsome. He had long red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and a shark-tooth earing on one of his ears. A shorter girl was standing next to him. She was very beautiful and had long, silvery blonde hair. Ginny obviously knew them.

"Bill!" she squealed.

She then attacked the man with a hug. He chuckled and hugged her back. The redheaded man then walked up to me and shook my hand.

"Bill Weasley," he greeted me, "I'm Ginny and Ron's older brother."

"Oh, that makes sense," I nodded, "I'm Rosaline Moriali."

"Yes, Mum and Dad said they were taking in another kid," he chuckled.

"That would be me," I laughed.

"And Dad tells me your a muggle," he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, that's true," I nodded.

"But you also have some sort of special powers?" he asked.

"That's true as well," I added, "I erase memories mostly. It's nothing big."

"Interesting," he nodded.

Then the blonde walked up to me and smiled.

"I'm Fleur Decaour," she said in a french accent, "I'm Bill's fiance."

The name immediately struck a spark in my head. She was one of the champions in the Triwizard Tournament during 4th year.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled.

"Waz your 'air always blue?" she suddenly asked.

"Since I was 10," I said.

"I see," she sighed.

_Okay. Whatever _that's _supposed to mean._

"Well Bill," Mrs. Weasley, "You still haven't told us why you're here."

"Just thought Fleur and I would visit," he said, "And since Fleur and I are getting married, I'd thought it would be nice for her to stay here and get to know the family while I went back to work."

Ron's face lit up happily. He obviously was going to enjoy Fleur's stay. Mrs. Weasley nodded and then smiled, but it was obviously fake.

"Oh," she said, "I see. That would be...lovely."

Ginny and I glanced at each other and shrugged. I didn't why she wasn't taking it nicely.

"Well," Mr. Weasley said, "Why don't we all continue you this in the living room? Molly, how about you make everyone a cup of tea?"

She nodded and then rushed to the kitchen. We walked into the living room and took a seat.

"So Bill," Mr. Weasley said, "How's business in Egypt?"

"Quite well," Bill said, "It's still hot as ever, but business is through the roof."

"Bill works at the Gringotts bank in Egypt," Ginny explained to me.

"Interesting," I nodded.

Mrs. Weasley soon came back with a tray in her hands. Seven cups of tea sat on the tray. She set it down on the small table in the middle of the room. She then handed each of us a cup.

"How is wedding planning going, Fleur?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Quite well," Fleur sighed, "But it eez quite 'ard trying to find ze zings for ze perfect wedding. I want everything to be beautiful."

"I'm sure Molly would be happy to help," Mr. Weasley offered.

Fleur smiled giddily, happy with the offer. Mrs. Weasley on the other hand, didn't take the news well, since she choked on her tea when Mr. Weasley said that. I quietly chuckled with Ginny as we watched Mrs. Weasley smile falsely at Fleur and nodded.

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley lied through her teeth.

There was a long silence in the room, which made everything uncomfortable. I could actually _feel _the awkward.

"Well, I told Fred and George that I would visit their shop," Mrs. Weasley said, "So I'll...go."

She quickly jumped from her seat and ran out the door. I heard a muffled _crack! _from outside, meaning she already left. Ginny sighed, obviously meaning she wished she left with her. I didn't see what was wrong with Fleur...or maybe I wasn't there long enough to see it yet.

Aaralyn's POV

The liveliness is what I needed. The aura of happiness and enjoyment and joy filled me up as I worked. It made me forget about everything else. I was re-stocking the shelves when I heard the shop door opened. I looked down from the ladder and saw Molly entering the shop.

"Hey Molly!" I said.

She looked up and smiled at me. There was a loud _crack!_ and then George and Fred appeared on either side of their mother. She shrieked and then swatted them both on the arm.

"How many times have I told you _not _to scare me like that?" she shrilly asked.

"Quite a few," Fred smirked.

I stepped down from the ladder and gave Molly a hug.

"It's good to see you, Molly," I said.

"It's good to see you, too," she said, "Well I came here to look at the shop, so who would like to give me a tour?"

"I'll do the honors," George offered.

George and Molly walked away to explore the shop. I walked into the back room to grab a few more boxes to refill the shelves. I went towards one of the shelves when Fred stepped in front of me. I tried to move to the side but he followed my movement.

"Fred, move," I ordered, "I need to get something from that shelf."  
>"What do you need?" he asked.<p>

"I need to get more Extendable Ears," I said, "Now move."

"Sorry, can't," he said.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Uh..." Fred paused, "Because...I can't."

"Wait," I said, "Are you hiding something back there?"

"What?" Fred scoffed, "No."

Fred turned around and handed me a handful of Extendable Ears.

"Here," he said, "Now go."

I smirked and walked away.

"I'm going to find out sooner or later," I shouted back at him.

I heard him shout something back, but I was too far to hear what he said. I'm sure it was something along the lines of 'no you won't.' I was refilling the shelves when I heard a squeal of enjoyment. I looked over my shoulder and saw Molly hugging George very tightly. He looked a little taken back by the hug but was chuckling as if he expected it.

"Thanks Mum," he said.

"I'm so happy for you!" she giggled.

_Man, what did he do to make her _that_ happy?_

I walked back down the ladder and went back to the counter. I had just finished with a customer when Molly and George came back towards the front the shop.

"I'm proud of you boys," she said, "The shop looks great."

"You're going already?" I asked.

"Unfortunately," she sighed, "Bill and Fleur are back home. And Fleur wants me to help with wedding plans."

"Oh," I grimaced, "I'm sorry."

"So am I," she rolled her eyes.

"Well have fun, Mum," Fred said sarcastically.

"I'll see you soon," she said.

She then gave us each a hug goodbye. Then she left and we went straight to work.

I locked up the front door and turned off the lights in the shop. Verity had already left and Fred and George were in the back room. I had noticed that they weren't keeping to themselves lately like they had usually been doing. I thought maybe the situation was finally over with and I had nothing to worry about; but I was wrong.

The door to the back room was slightly opened, so I could hear Fred and George's voices clearly.

"So what did she say?" Fred asked.

"She's not mad," George said, "She said she was happy for me."

"Really?" Fred asked shocked, "I expected her to be a little mad or worried, since you're only 18."

"I guess it's because of Bill and Fleur," George said, "You know how much she hates Fleur."

"I don't see what's wrong with her," Fred said.

"She's obnoxious, bratty, self-centered and incredibly shallow," George said, "You only like her because she's half-veela."

"Can you blame me for wanting a girl with looks?" Fred asked.

I silently chuckled and then started to go upstairs.

"What?" George almost shouted.

"Calm down," Fred said, "I said 'almost.'"

I stopped in my tracks and then turned back to Fred and George's conversation.

"'Almost found' is very close to 'found,'" George said.

"Don't flip out at me for something that almost happened," Fred said, "Just find another hiding spot. Somewhere where no one can find it."

They're hiding something? What would they hide? And why would they hide something? I better find out what soon because eavesdropping on their conversations is starting to become a bad habit.


	40. Visting Luna

**A/N: FINALLY! My writer's block is gone! I'm terribly sorry for the HUMUNGOUS delay. Like I said before, I had a writer's block :/ But it's gone now! So I'm dedicating this chapter to my best friend, Ana; for helping me get out of my rut. Thanks! R&R!**

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><p>The shop was going to be closed today. So I decided that we visit the Burrow, thinking that Fred and George should be around their family more often.<p>

"What time did Molly say we should come by?" I asked.

"Around lunch time," Fred said.

"Thank Merlin," George sighed, "I miss Mum's cooking."

"You're telling me," Fred said.

"Awww," I teased, "Do Freddie and Georgie miss their mommy?"

"Shut up," Fred and George said, scowling at me.

I giggled and playfully rolled my eyes. Fred checked the clock and then stood up from the table.

"It's about time to leave," he said, "See you there!"

Then he apparated to the Burrow. George put his empty mug in the sink and then wrapped his arm around me.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," I smiled.

George linked his arm to mine. I sucked in my breath and then waited for the nauseating feeling of apparating. I closed my eyes tightly and then there was an uncomfortable tug at my stomach. It felt like I was going to be pulled away, making me wrap my arms around George. Suddenly it all stopped.

"Aaralyn," George chuckled, "You can let go now."

I opened my eyes and saw the Burrow in front of me. I let go of George and laughed in embarrassment.

"I knew that," I said.

George chuckled even more and then intertwined his fingers with mine. We started to walk towards the Burrow. As soon as we walked in, Molly smothered George with hugs and kisses.

"Oh Georgie, I've missed you," she squealed, "You and you're brother need to visit more often. And you haven't been keeping me updated enough."

"Mum," George groaned, "You're smothering me."

She released him from her grasp and then smiled sweetly. She hugged me hello and looked me over.

"Merlin's beard, you're so thin!" she gasped, "Well lucky for you I just set down the food. Fred and the others are already at the table so go help yourselves."

We thanked her and then walked towards the long table filled with Weasleys. The only one that stood out was Rosaline, since her hair was blue instead of red like the others. I sat down next to her and hugged her hello.

"I missed you," she said, "It sucks that you won't come back to Hogwarts next year."

"Yeah," I sighed, "I don't think I was meant for that place. And besides, I like my job."

"You also can't last two seconds without George by your side," Rosaline muttered.

"Shut up," I said.

"I wish you were still going to Hogwarts," Ginny said, "Who else is going to break Malfoy's nose when he picks on first years?"

"You and Rosaline can take over for me," I said.

"I'll pass on that," Rosaline said.

"I'm not," Ginny giggled.

"Just don't get into _too _much trouble," I said. I then lowered my voice, "So I heard Fleur is staying here."

Ginny and Rosaline groaned and sadly nodded.

"She's torture," Rosaline whispered.

"She annoys the hell out of everyone," Ginny added, "Except for Ron, who thinks she's an angel."

"That's not likely," Rosaline muttered.

"Luckily Hermione will be here in a few days," Ginny piped up.

"Yeah," Rosaline sighed, "Finally someone who won't criticize my hair and clothing."

I giggled and nodded.

"Well this has been great," George said, "But we need to get back to the shop."

"Oh, you're leaving so soon?" Molly asked.

"Business can't continue by itself," Fred said.

"I guess that means I'm leaving," I sighed.

I gave Rosaline and Ginny a hug goodbye and then walked out of the Burrow with Fred and George. Fred had already apparated back to the shop once we were outside. Fred then wrapped his arm around my shoulders and then we apparated home. As soon as we reached the flat, I let go of George and collapsed on the couch.

"I'm exhausted and also very full," I sighed, "I think your mother is trying to make me fat; which could never happen because I have high metabolism."

George chuckled and sat down next to me, hanging his long arm over my shoulders.

"She's been trying that with me for the past 17 years," he said.

"And yet you're still extremely thin," I added.

"It's from all the quidditch practice," he said.

"Impressive," I giggled.

"I know," he smirked, "You'd think I was born with these muscles but actually no."

I looked at his arms and then poked one of them.

"What muscles?" I asked.

I then started to laugh when I saw him frown at me.

"Sod off," he said.

"Make me," I smirked.

He kissed me on lips, passionately and lovingly. I couldn't help but kiss back. He slid his arms around my waist, making mine wrap around his neck. I felt his tongue swiftly brush against my bottom lip. I opened my mouth slightly and George started to explore my mouth with his tongue. He brought himself closer to me. He started to push me lower to the couch, until we were both lying down.

"Whoa!" Fred shouted.

We both shot up and saw Fred looking over at us with his arms crossed.

"Seriously," he said, "If you're going to do that, please continue it in a room with a closed door."

_God, Fred. Stop being a cockblock!_

Rosaline's POV

It was a bright sunny day. Ron was outside, de-gnoming the garden. Ginny was in her room and Hermione was sitting in the living room, reading. Mr. Weasley was away at the Ministry. Mrs. Weasley was cooking, like she always does. Which left me by myself, with nothing to do.

I stepped outside to enjoy the summer air and heat of the sun, when I saw dark house far in the distance. I narrowed my eyes to get a better look, but still it was too far away to see it clearly. I walked over to Ron, who was occupied with a hideous gnome that wouldn't get off his arm. He finally flung it off him, and it flew over the bushes.

"Hey Ron," I said.

"Oh, hi," he sighed.

"What's that over there?" I asked as I pointed over at house miles away from the Burrow.

"Luna lives there," he said.

"Luna's your neighbor?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah," he said, "I didn't know until now, though."

"I think I know what I'm going to do today," I said.

"You're actually going to go over there?" Ron asked shocked.

"Why not?" I shrugged, "Luna's my friend."

"She's weird," he said.

"But that's what I like about her," I said, "Weird is basically saying she's different, which is the same as unique. So if you think about it, you're giving her a compliment."

"Whatever," Ron rolled his eyes.

"If anyone asks where I am," I said, "I'm at Luna's."

"Alright," Ron said.

I started walking towards the house. It looked so far away. It would be so much easier if I was a wizard; I could fly over on a broom. I sighed as I started to get from tired of walking. But finally I was close enough to get a clear view of the house. It was tall, circular and narrow; a lot like the Burrow. Except it was made with a dark wood, almost black. The gate that surrounded the property was broken down and covered with signs that were tacked on. A garden, filled with odd, unheard of plants, surrounded the house. Two crab apples trees sat on either side of the front door; which oddly grew berry-sized fruits and white-headed mistletoe. A small owl sat on one of the trees' branches.

I walked down the zigzagged path that led to the front door. Once I reached the door, I knocked on the thick, black wood. The iron nails that were studded in the door rattled loosely in the wood. The door squeaked open, and revealed Luna on the other side. Her silvery grey eyes lit up when she saw me and she gave me a tight hug.

"It's nice to see you, Rosaline," she smiled.

"It's nice to see you, too," I said.

"Come in," she said, "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"That would be nice," I said.

We sat down in the kitchen together. It was a perfect, circular room with a stove, sink and cupboards that curved to fit against the walls. They were all painted in bright colors, with flowers, bugs and birds; possibly by Luna. We sat down in two random chairs that were against the wall. A kettle was sitting on the stove, a thin line of smoke floating from the top.

"I didn't know you lived by," Luna said.

"I moved in with the Weasleys before summer started," I said.

"Did something happen to your family?" she then asked.

"Uh.." I managed to say. I didn't exactly know how to answer that. "I never did...live with my family."

"Oh I'm sorry," Luna said in a melodic tone. She always seemed to be off in another world somewhere.

"I used to live with Aaralyn and her uncle," I explained.

"Oh that's nice," she smiled.

"But then her uncle died, and then she moved in with George and Fred," I carried on, "So the Weasleys offered to take me in."

"That's nice of them," Luna said as she looked out the window.

"Yeah, I guess," I said, wondering why she was looking out the window.

"It looks like it's going to rain," Luna sighed daydreamy-like.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the window; it was sunny out.

"Why would it rain?" I asked curiously.

"The Wrackspurts aren't buzzing in my ears," she said, "They like to be outside when it rains."

I nodded, pretending to understand what she was talking about. I obviously didn't understand anything. What was a Wrackspurt supposed to be anyway?

"It will probably be half an hour before it starts to rain," she sighed.

"Well I should get going if it's going to," I said, "I wouldn't want to get caught in the rain."

She smiled at me and hugged me goodbye.

"You should come by tomorrow," she said, "Daddy and I are going Gurdyroot-picking tomorrow."

"I'll see if I can stop by," I awkwardly smiled.

I stepped out the door and started to walk back down the zigzagged lane. It was about half way to the Burrow when I noticed it was starting to get dark. I look up and saw that the sky was covered with gray clouds. I smirked and laughed to myself; Luna was right after all. I luckily made it inside before the rain started to fall.

"Goodness," Mrs. Weasley said, "They said it wasn't going to rain today. The whole day was supposed to be sunny. But look at this; rain and gray clouds. You can't trust WizardWeather these days."

I laughed a little on the inside, but kept a straight face as I nodded in agreement with Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm a little tired," I said, "I'll be in my room."

"Alright," she said, "I'll keep a bowl of soup warmed up for you when you're hungry."

I walked up the swirling staircase, which made me even more tired. I finally made it to my room and collapsed onto the bed. I could feel myself drifting off to sleep almost instantly. Then it all went black.

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><p>I could feel a cool breeze blowing through my hair. I opened my eyes and saw that I was on a pier. It was dark out and the only lights on were from the far away buildings and the street light that stood next to me. The water was still and reflected all of the city lights beautifully. I smiled a little to myself, when I remembered this was my favorite pier in Hong Kong.<p>

"You always loved it here," someone said.

I turned around and cursed under my breath when I saw Blaine standing behind me.

"What do you want now?" I asked bitterly.

He smirked at me and walked closer. Soon he was deadly close to me. He slid his right arm around my waist and placed his left hand gently on my cheek. He leaned in closer until his lips was centimeters from mine.

"You," he whispered against my lips.

His soft lips touched mine and instantly I felt sparks explode in me. He pulled me closer to him and turned the gentle, tender peck into a deep, passionate kiss that made me heart skip beats. Without even thinking, I kissed back. I rested my arms on his chest as he held on tight to me. He then pulled his lips away and looked into my grey eyes with his vibrant green ones.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he smiled.

I smiled back at him. All I could think about was kissing him again. It was almost as if he read my mind, because he pulled his lips back to mine immediately. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as he deepened the kiss. He pushed me against the ledge of the pier, still keeping his lips on mine. He pulled away again and looked me deeply in the eyes.

"I've waited a long time to do this," he said.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. He released his grip from me and stepped back a few steps. He smirked when he saw how confused I was. Then the smirk turned into a smile; but there was nothing happy about it.

Suddenly he shoved me off the pier. I felt myself falling, which made me scream bloody murder. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting anxiously for me to hit the water, but it never happened. I looked down and saw that it was just pitch blackness around me. I was falling into a dark, bottomless pit. Even though I'd never hit anything, I still screamed.

All of a sudden, my back slammed against something hard, causing pain to spread throughout my body. I looked up and saw a clear, morning sky above me. I slowly sat up and saw that I was in the middle of an empty road; in the middle of nowhere. It was dirt and desert on either side of the old road I was sitting in. I got up on my feet and looked at my surroundings; I couldn't find any proof of life from where I stood. Why the fuck did Blaine push me off that pier?

Honestly I wasn't surprised he did it. I shouldn't have fallen for his act so quickly. He'd never actually have feelings for; it was physically impossible. I hated him so much.

"If you hate me then why did you kiss back?" someone said.

There he was again. Blaine just stood there smirking at me. I rolled my eyes and turned the other way to started walking. But something held me back; Blaine was holding onto my wrist.

"You can't get away that easily," he said.

I turned back to him and glared intensely at him. He only smirked at me, like he always does.

"I hate you," I said, "I always will! I hope you die and rot alone in a ditch!"

Blaine pretended to be hurt and fake-winced and placed a hand over his heart.

"Ouch, that hurts, Rosie," he said.

"Don't call me that," I hissed.

He chuckled and shook his head at me. I balled my hands up into fists, ready to strike at Blaine. He just kept laughing at me. What the fuck was wrong with him? I could feel anger boiling inside me and started filling up every part of my body. I gritted my teeth angrily and breathed deeply, trying to blow away the rage I felt. But finally I couldn't contain it anymore.

In a flash my fist collided with his jaw. Blaine immediately stopped laughing and stumbled back from the punch. Blood was now coming out of the corner of his mouth, running down his chin in a single stream. He winched as he touched it, and glared at me evilly.

"You're going to pay for that, Moriali," he spat.

My eyes widened in fear when I listened to his now demonic voice. I had never heard talk like that before, and I had never heard use my last name before either. Suddenly he charged at me, which made me scream and run in the other direction. But I was too late, he had already got me. He grabbed onto my wrists uncomfortably tight and yanked me back. His eyes were now deathly black and he sneered at me.

"You scared now?" he asked.

* * *

><p>I shot up from my bed, panting and sweating. The dream wasn't what woke me up though; the sound of an owl did. I walked out of my room and looked down at the bottom of the steps.<p>

"Did I hear an owl?" I asked loudly.

"That's what I just asked," Hermione said.

I looked up and saw her hanging over the stairs, as well as Ron. Mrs. Weasley was below me and Ginny was standing at the bottom of the steps.

"You haven't seen him, have you?" Ginny asked.

"Who?" I asked.

"Harry," Ginny said, "Apparently he's been wandering about the house."

"Really?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Really," a different voice said, but I knew who it was.

"Harry!" Ginny smiled.

I rushed down the stairs and attacked Harry with a hug.

"Whoa," he said, "Hi. Could you get off before you choke me to death?"

"Sorry," I giggled, "I didn't know you were coming here."

"Well...surprise," he joked, lifted his hand in the air.

"Come on," Mrs. Weasley said, "We'll get you settled in. You'll be sharing a room with Ron."

Harry picked up his suitcase and went up the stairs towards the top, where Ron's room was.

"I'm going back to bed," I said, "Goodnight Harry."

"Night," he smiled at me.

I sighed as I closed the door behind me. I settled back into my bed and stared at the ceiling. I spent half the night staring at the dark ceiling above me. I honestly was scared to go back to sleep. But my eyes grew heavy with need to sleep; I only hoped that when I did go to sleep, I wouldn't return to Blaine.


	41. Morning Deliveries

**A/N: Awesome! I got another chapter posted. I'm so glad that writer's block is done with because now I'm on a roll! I feel like writing 5 more chapters! Woo-hoo! I feel like a I just drank 2 gallons of coffee (which is only a gallon less then what I usually drink...just kidding). I'm so excited! I'm starting to get to the good part of the story. Yes, I have already planned out what I want to happen in the 6th year (just the main idea, not every detail). So I hope you guys are as psyched as I am! R&R!**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling the sunlight hit my face. I rose from my bed and stretched my tired arms. I could here muffled voices in the other room, which made me leave my room to check it out. I found Harry, Ron and Hermione in the room a few steps above me.

"Good morning," I yawned.

"Morning," Hermione smiled.

"So what are we talking about?" I asked as I sat down in the bed Harry was sleeping in.

"Hogwarts has got a new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts," Ron sighed.

"Not surprised," I shrugged, "Who is it?"

"Some guy named Slughorn," Ron said, "Harry met him last night. So, what's he like?"  
>"He looks a bit like a walrus," Harry described Slughorn, "And he used to be the Head of Slytherin." He then glanced over at Hermione and asked, "Something wrong Hermione?"<p>

I looked over at Hermione and saw that she had a strange look on her face; she looked like she was waiting for Harry to explode or something. But then she changed her expression into an obviously fake smile.

"No, of course not!" she said, "So did Slughorn seem like he'll be a good teacher?"

"Don't know," Harry shrugged, "He can't be worse than Umbridge, can he?"

"I know someone who is worse than Umbridge," a new voice said.

We all looked over at the doorway and saw Ginny standing there. She looked very irritated, which made me realize what was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"It's _her_," Ginny groaned, sitting herself down next to me, "She's driving me mad."

"What's she done now?" Hermione asked.

"It's the way she talks to me," Ginny rolled her eyes, "You'd think I was about three!"

"I know," Hermione dropped her voice, "She's so full of herself."

"Tell me about it," I sighed, "Yesterday she asked me if I ever considered dying my hair a 'more civilized color!' Honestly, she doesn't know how to shut up!"

"Can you three lay off her for five seconds?" Ron asked angrily.

"Oh, that's right, defend her," Ginny snapped, "We all know you can't get enough of her."

Harry was confused by the entire conversation. He must of thought we were talking about someone else.

"Who are you -" he started to ask, when he was suddenly interrupted by the door flinging open.

And there she was; Fleur. She came sweeping through the room gracefully, her long silvery blonde hair flowing behind her. She had a tray, filled with breakfast foods, in her arms.

"'Arry," she smiled, "Eet 'as been too long!"

Mrs. Weasley then popped into the room, with an annoyed look on her face.

"There was no need to bring up the tray," she said crossly, "I was just about to do it myself!"

"Eet was no trouble," Fleur said, setting the tray on Harry's lap and then kissing him on the cheek, "I 'ave been longing to see 'im. You remember my seester, Gabrielle? She never stops talking about 'Arry Potter. She will be delighted to see you again."

"Oh," Harry said awkwardly, "Is she here, too?"

"No, no, silly boy," she laughed, making me want to gag, "I mean next summer, when we - but do you not know?"

Fleur's eyes widened and then she looked over at Mrs. Weasley, who was pretending to be occupied by watching the ceiling.

"We hadn't gotten around to telling him yet," she said coolly.

"Bill and I are getting married!" Fleur squealed when she turned back to Harry.

I tried so hard not to roll my eyes or gag, so I looked down at my hands to avoid eye contact with anyone (preferably Mrs. Weasley, Hermione or Ginny).

"Oh," Harry blankly said, "Wow. Um - congratulations!"

Fleur thanked him with another kiss on the cheek.

"Bill is very busy at ze moment, working very 'ard" she sighed, "And I only work part-time at Gringotts for my Eenglish, so he brought me 'ere for a few days to get to know 'is family properly. I was so pleased to 'ear you would be coming - zere isn't much to do 'ere, unless you like cooking and chickens! Well - enjoy your breakfast, 'Arry!"

Finally, she left the room. Mrs. Weasley shut the door behind her as she left, making some sort of sound that said 'she irks me.'

"Mum hates her," Ginny giggled.

"I don't hate her!" Mrs. Weasley defended herself, "I just thing they've hurried into this engagement, that's all!"

"They've known each other for a year," Ron said.

"Well, that's not very long!" Mrs. Weasley said, "I know why it's happened, of course. It's all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, center -"

"Including you and Dad," Ginny interrupted.

"Yes, well, your father and I were made for each other," Mrs. Weasley said, "What was the point in waiting? Whereas Bill and Fleur...well...what have they really got in common? He's a hard-working, down-to-earth sort of person. Fleur is..."

"A cow," I finished for her, "An airhead."

"But Bill's not down-to-earth," Ginny added, "He's a Curse-Breaker, isn't he? He likes a bit of adventure, a little glamor...I bet that's why he's gone for Phlegm."

I giggled at the nickname Ginny had given Fleur. But Mrs. Weasley didn't approve of it at all.

"Stop calling her that," she said sharply, "Well, I better get on. Eat your eggs while they're still warm, Harry."

Then she left the room. I had finally noticed that Ron looked...odd. But I knew what he was so tipsy about, and so did Harry.

"Don't you get used to her if she's staying in the same house?" he asked Ron.

"Well, you do," Ron said, "but if she jumps out at you unexpectedly, like then..."

"It's pathetic," Hermione crossed her arms furiously.

"Do you really want her to stick around forever?" Ginny asked him, which he reply with a shrug. "Well, Mum's going to put a stop to it if she can, I bet you anything."

"How's she going to manage that?" Harry asked.

"She's been inviting Tonks to dinner a lot lately," I said, "I think she's trying to get Bill to fall for her before it's too late."

"Like that's likely," Ron scoffed, "No bloke would fancy Tonks when Fleur's around. I mean, Tonks is okay-looking when she isn't doing stupid things with her hair -"

"Excuse me?" I interrupted, raising my eyebrows at him.

Ron stared at me wide-eyed, remembering that my hair was electric blue. He tried to stutter out an apology, but failed miserably.

"I happen to like Tonks's hair," I snapped, "She's just expressing herself. So what if her hair is a different color every day?"

"I-I didn't m-mean anything t-towards you," Ron nervously answered, "It's l-looks great on you."

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes, "I'm going downstairs."

I glared at him as I walked past him and out the room. I could here Ginny giggling madly at Ron's terrified look, and then Ron's sigh of relief once I was gone.

As I came downstairs I saw Fleur sitting at the table, dreamily gazing out the window. Mrs. Weasley was frying up something on one of the several pans on the stove.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Mrs. Weasley?" I asked.

"Oh, sure," she smiled, "Could you dice those tomatoes?"

"Okay," I smiled back.

I turned to the counter and saw a large pile of tomatoes by the cutting board. My eyes widened at the small red mountain in front of me.

"Uh, what are you making?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing much," Mrs. Weasley shrugged, "Just a couple of meat pies, onion soup, roast chicken, and onion-garlic mashed potatoes."

"Are we having a family reunion?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

Mrs. Weasley laughed, thinking that I was joking.

"It's only lunch and dinner," she sighed.

_That's a lot of food for only lunch and dinner._

I shrugged off the thought, and grabbed the cutting knife to start dicing tomatoes.

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs, "Come down here and help me with lunch!"

"I'm talking with this lot!" Ginnny shouted back.

"Now!" Mrs. Weasley ordered.

I could here Ginny stomp her way down the steps and then walked over to my side.

"How many tomatoes do we need?" she asked when she saw the pile of red on the counter.

"I don't know," I said, "She never told me how much."

Suddenly I heard a rushed set of footsteps running down the stairs. I looked over my shoulder and saw Hermione...with a black eye.

"Holy crap," I said loudly, "Where did that come from?"

"One of Fred and George's stupid pranks," she snapped, "I accidentally squeezed a telescope and it punched me!"

"Oh goodness," Mrs. Weasley said, "Come and sit down. I'll fix it in a jiffy."

"Did any owls come yet?" Hermione asked nervously.

"No," I said, "Why?"

"Harry said our O.W.L.s results were coming today," she bit her lip.

Mrs. Weasley pulled out her wand and a copy of _The Healer's Helpmate_. She tried a few spells, but the black eye wouldn't go away. Harry and Ron then came down the steps with a half-empty tray.

"It just won't budge," Mrs. Weasley said, referring to Hermione's black eye, "This has always worked before, I just can't understand it."

"It'll be Fred and George's idea of a funny joke, making sure it can't come off," Ginny said.

"But it's got to come off!" Hermione said, "I can't go around looking like this forever!"

"You won't, dear, we'll find an antidote, don't worry," Mrs. Weasley said in a soothing voice.

"Bill told me 'ow Fred and George are very amusing!" Fleur smiled.

"Yes, I can hardly breathe for laughing!" Hermione said sarcastically as she shot up from her seat at the table.

She started to pace around the kitchen, nervously pulling and fiddling with her fingers.

"Mrs. Weasley," she squeaked anxiously, "you're quite, quite sure no owls have arrived this morning?"

"Yes, dear, I'd have noticed," Mrs. Weasley said. "But it's barely nine, there's still plenty of time..."

"I know I messed up Ancient Runes," Hermione muttered, "I definitely made at least one serious mistranslation. And the Defense Against the Dark Arts practical was no good at all. I thought Transfiguration went all right at the time, but looking back -"

"Hermione, will you shut up!" Ron shouted, "You're not the only one who's nervous! And when you've got your ten 'Outstanding' O.W.L.s..."  
>"Don't, don't, don't!" she said, "I know I've failed everything!"<p>

"Calm down, you two!" I snapped, "Jesus Christ! Hermione, you'll do fine. Ron, don't be jealous because some people are smarter than you."

Hermione shyly blushed and continued to pace back and forth. Ron looked at me with a confused look.

"What?" I asked.

"'Jeezus Cries' who?" he asked.

"Never mind," I sighed, rolling my eyes, "You've annoyed me enough already."

"What happens when if we fail everything?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"We discuss our options with the Head of House," Hermione explained, "I asked Professor McGonagall at the end of last term."

I sighed, remembering that I had left before O.W.L.s started, so I basically failed everything. I hated imagining sitting in the same room with Professor Flitwick, trying to explain why I left suddenly and didn't come back until next year.

"At Beauxbatons," Fleur butted in, "we 'ad a different way of doing things. I think eet was better. We sat our examinations after six years of study, not five, then -"

She stopped talking when Hermione suddenly let out a scream. She was pointing at the kitchen window, which revealed three black specks flying towards us.

"They're definitely owls," Ron groaned.

"And there are three of them," Harry said.

"No shit," I muttered, which gave me a glare from Harry.

"One for each of us," Hermione whisper fearfully, "Oh no...oh no...oh no..."

"Hermione," I said, "Calm down."

She didn't listen to me though. She was too busy staring at the owls that were coming even closer to the Burrow.

"Oh _no_!" she shrieked.

Mrs. Weasley moved past them and opened the kitchen window. One by one, the owls came soaring in, dropping off the envelopes and then went flying back out the window. Harry, Hermione and Ron grabbed each of the envelopes and opened them to see their results. It was dead silent in the kitchen for a few minutes.

"Well?" I asked breaking the silence.

"Only failed Divination and History of Magic!" Ron said happily, "What about you, Harry? Here - swap -"

They switched papers and read them.

"I knew you'd be top at Defense Against the Dark Arts," Ron smirked, "We've done alright, haven't we?"

"Well done!" Mrs. Weasley said proudly, "Seven O.W.L.s; that's more than Fred and George's combined.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked, "How'd you do?"

"I - not bad," she said quietly.

"Oh, come off it!" Ron scoffed, snatching the paper out of Hermione's hands, "Yep - nine 'Outstandings' and one 'Exceeds Expectations' at Defense Against the Dark Arts."

I giggled when I saw Ron's expression towards Hermione; half-amused, half-exasperated.

"You're actually disappointed, aren't you?" I laughed.

Hermione shook her head, but Harry and I laughed even more.

"Well, we're N.E.W.T. students now!" Ron cheered, "Mum, are there any more sausages?"

"Seriously?" I said, "Do you ever stop eating?"

"What, I'm hungry," he said defensively.

* * *

><p>Since I chose not to go "Gurdyroot-picking" with the Lovegoods, I decided to make it up to them by giving them another visit. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley thought it was nice that I was hanging out with Luna; Ron thought Luna would brainwash me and make me as mental as she was.<p>

All I wanted to do was get out of the house, mostly because Fleur was torturing me. Every time we were in the same room together, she would suggest something for me to change; my clothes, the books I read, the makeup I use, especially my hair. Last time, she suggested that I dyed my hair blonde! Blonde! Fleur is 5 feet and 9 inches of snobby, annoying hell. So I basically do whatever I can to get away from..._Phlegm_.

I knocked on the door, which immediately opened. Luna smiled sweetly at me and hugged me hello.

"I'm sorry I missed Gurdyroot-picking," I smiled sympathetically.

"It's quite alright," Luna sighed, "You can come next time. Come in, Daddy's making tea."

We went straight to the kitchen, where Mr. Lovegood was stirring a few oddly shaped plants into the kettle.

"Daddy, Rosaline came to visit," Luna said.

Mr. Lovegood looked up and smiled at me.

"Good to see you again, Rosaline," he said.

"Hello, Mr. Lovegood," I said.

"Well, take a seat," he kindly said, "The tea is almost ready."

Luna and I sat down on the tiny stools that stood against the wall.

"Harry moved into the Burrow a few days ago," I said.

"Oh, that must be nice," Luna said in her usual melodic tone.

"Well, it's better for him here than it is at his aunt and uncle's," I sighed.

"I think that there's good in everyone," she said, "They couldn't be that bad."

I shrugged. Maybe there was something nice about Harry's aunt and uncle; if you looked deep down. When I say 'deep down' I mean if you look _way _deep down, past China, you might find something nice about them.

Mr. Lovegood handed us each a small cup of tea. The liquid had an odd gray hint and a few floating pieces of what I was told was Gurdyroot. I took one sip and almost choked. I quietly coughed and politely smiled, pretending to enjoy the tea. Luna had no reaction at all to the tea; I'm guessing she was enjoying it.

"So how did you do on your O.W.L.s?" I asked.

"I got six O.W.L.s," she smiled.

"That's good," I nodded.

"What about you?" she asked.

I choked on my tea again, but this time not because of the horrid taste. Did she even notice that I wasn't there for the rest of the year after the D.A. was discovered? She really doesn't pay attention to her surroundings, does she?

"I...uh," I paused, "I did pretty good."

"That's good," she nodded.

I finished off the rest of my tea with a rough cough and then placed the empty cup on the counter.

"I have something for you," Luna smiled.

She took my hand and took me upstairs to her room. She walked over to the nightstand that sat by her bed, and pulled one of the drawers out. Out of the drawer, she pulled out a necklace. It looked a lot like the one on her neck, except instead of a corkscrew, it was an old bottle-cap.

"Here," she said, "It's for keeping away the nargles."

I chuckled and put the necklace around my neck.

"Thanks, Luna," I said, "Well, I have to go. Bye."

I gave her a hug and waved goodbye before going back down the stairs.

"Bye, Mr. Lovegood," I called behind me as I walked out the door.

"Goodbye," he replied.

While walking back, I looked down at the necklace Luna had given me. From the whole time that I had known her, I had never seen her give away "protective charms" for the creatures she believed in; mostly because no one took the time to listen to her. Ever since I started visiting her over the summer, I learned so much from her. Luna didn't care if people thought she was weird or laughed at her, she still saw good in them. She cared about her friends, and wanted to protect them. So in a way, the necklace said I was her friend. I liked being Luna's friend.


	42. Diagon Alley and Sirius's Will

**A/N: Hooray for new chapter! I'm so proud of myself! The old me is coming back! *sigh* And since it's 2:00 in the morning, I'm going to go to sleep.**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

Today was Harry's birthday; he was now 16. Mrs. Weasley wanted a big celebration, but all Harry wanted was a cake and a nice dinner. Lupin stopped by for dinner and Bill came back from business; finally Fleur could nag someone besides me or Ginny.

"There have been another couple of dementor attacks," Lupin said at the dinner table, "And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it - well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius's brother, Regulus, only managed a few days as far as I can remember."

It was funny to hear about Aaralyn's father. It was still unusual to talk about someone that you never thought existed.

"Yes, well," Mrs. Weasley frowned, "perhaps we should talk about something diff -"

"Did you hear about Florean Fortescue, Remus?" Bill asked, "The man who ran -"

"- the ice cream place in Diagon Alley?" Harry finished Bill's sentence, "He used to give me free ice creams. What's happened to him?"

"Dragged off, by the look of his place," Bill shrugged.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Who knows? He must've upset them somehow. He was a good man, Florean."

"Talking of Diagon Alley," Mr. Weasley said, "looks like Ollivander's gone, too."

"The wandmaker?" Ginny asked, startled.

"That's the one," Mr. Weasley sighed, "Shop's empty. No sign of a struggle. No one knows whether he left voluntarily or was kidnapped."

"But wands - what'll people do for wands?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"They'll make do with other makers," Lupin said, "But Ollivander was the best, and if the other side have got him it's not so good for us."

All this talk about people disappearing was depressing me; it reminded me too much of my dad. He just got up and left, only leaving a note by my make-shift cot. And then..._they _killed him. The memory still brought tears to my eyes. I bit my lip to focus on a different pain, but it didn't work as well. I could feel tears filling in my eyes, so I quickly left the table before anyone could see me cry.

I ran up to my room and closed the door behind. I sat down by the window and then...started to cry. I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my head on my arms. Tears spilled onto the sleeves of my shirt. The sound of me crying drowned out everything else; even the sound of someone opening my door. I felt a hand rest on my back, which startled me and made my head shoot up from it's resting place. I thought that maybe Mrs. Weasley or Ginny or Hermione would have come up to see me; but I was surprised when I saw Harry instead. I wiped away my tears and looked at Harry shocked.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's nothing," I choked out.

"It doesn't look like it's nothing," Harry said, "Did that conversation bother you?"

"If you must know," I breathed deeply, "When I lived in Hong Kong, there was a time when something like this happened; people disappeared, people were killed. Division was..and still is very powerful. They hurt a lot of people, including me."

Harry looked at me with wide eyes when I said that.

"What did they do to you?" he asked.

"They killed my dad," I said weakly, "And that's worse than dying."

I could feel the tears returning to my eyes, and I couldn't control it this time. I broke down and cried miserably. Harry wrapped his arm around me and brought me closer to him, so I could rest my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I really am."

"I-It's ok-k-kay," I stuttered.

"At least you knew him," he said, "I never met my parents. It's better to have had someone and then lost them, than to never had them in your life at all."

"Haven't heard that before," I muttered sarcastically.

Harry chuckled and hugged me tightly.

"Thanks," I weakly smiled.

"Anytime," he said.

"I think I'd like to be alone now," I whispered.

He nodded and then walked out of my room, closing the door behind him. I turned off the light and slept soundly that night; if you didn't count the occasional tears the kept me up.

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><p>I sat at the table, drinking a cup of tea, when our letters and book-lists from Hogwarts arrived. Harry had gotten a surprise with his letter; he was made Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor.<p>

"Congrats, dude," I smirked, "I've never been friends with a team captain before."

"That gives you equal status with prefects!" Hermione said, "You can use our special bathroom now and everything!"

"I remember when Charlie wore one of these," Ron said gleefully as he looked down at the badge, "Harry, this is so cool, you're my Captain - if you let me back on the team, I suppose..."

"Well, I don't suppose we can put off a trip to Diagon Alley much longer now you've got these," Mrs. Weasley sighed, "We'll go on Saturday as long as your father doesn't have to go into work again. I'm not going there without him."

"Mum, d'you honestly think You-Know-Who's going to be hiding behind a bookshelf in Flourish and Blotts?" Ron chuckled.

I giggled quietly as Mrs. Weasley immediately got fired up by the comment.

"Fortescue and Ollivander went on holiday, did they?" Mrs. Weasley said, "If you think security's a laughing matter you can stay behind and I'll get your things myself -"

"No, I wanna come," Ron begged, "I want to see Fred and George's shop!"

"Then you just buck up your ideas, young man," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "before I decide you're too immature to come with us! And that goes for returning to Hogwarts as well!"

Mrs. Weasley then took her laundry basket and stomped out of the room.

"Blimey," Ron muttered, "you can't even make a joke round here anymore..."

"She's just worried," Hermione sighed.

"Yeah," I sniggered, "She wants to protect her ickle Ronniekins!"

"Sod off," Ron snapped while Harry and Hermione laughed.

"But seriously, don't worry," I said, "She wouldn't want to miss out on seeing Fred and George's shop."

"I bet it's huge," Harry said.

"It is," I said, "And it looks even bigger when you walk in."

"You've been there?" Ron said, "And you never told us?"

"You didn't ask," I shrugged.

"You're so lucky," he muttered.

I knew Ron was anxious see the shop, just like everyone else was. And lucky for them, Saturday came by very quickly. Before we knew it, we were leaving for Diagon Alley. The Ministry of Magic gave us cars to get to the Leaky Cauldron, but only because Harry was with us. It was they're top priority to protect him. And apparently there was additional security there, too. When we pulled up to the Leaky Cauldron, Hagrid was standing outside. I guess that's what they called 'security.'

"Harry!" he cheered as Harry stepped out of the car, "Buckbeak - Witherwings, I mean - yeh should see him, Harry, he's so happy ter be back in the open air -"

"Glad he's pleased," Harry grinned, "We didn't know 'security' meant you!"

"I know, jus' like old times, innit?" Hagrid smiled, "See, the Ministry wanted ter send a bunch o' Aurors, but Dumbledore said I'd do. Let's get goin' then - after yeh, Molly, Arthur -"

We walked into the Leaky Cauldron. It was a lot emptier than I had imagined it to be. Only one man, who I guessed to be the landlord, was there.

"Jus' passin' through today, Tom," Hagrid said, "sure yeh understand, Hogwarts business, yeh know."

Tom nodded and continued cleaning glasses that weren't going to be used. We all walked through the bar and into a small courtyard. Hagrid took his pink umbrella and rapped a certain brick in the wall. Suddenly the wall opened into an archway, and revealed Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley didn't look so great. All the windows were covered with Ministry of Magic posters; some were about on-the-loose Death Eaters, others were about security advice. A few shabby-looking stalls had been set up in the streets, selling amulets and protective charms to keep away werewolves, Inferi and dementors. It look like a rip-off to me. The whole place really depressed me.

"Ron, Hermione, Harry, Rosaline," Mrs. Weasley said, "You can go get fitted for your robes. Ginny and I are going to get her new books. Hagrid please go with them and keep them safe."

"No problem, Molly," Hagrid smiled.

We walked over to Madam Malkin's and stepped inside, while Hagrid stood guard outside. At first it looked like it was empty, until I heard a very familiar voice.

"...not a child, in case you haven't noticed, Mother. I am perfectly capable of doing my shopping _alone_."

Madam Malkin made a disappointed clucking noise with her tongue.

"Now, dear, your mother's quite right," she said, "none of us is supposed to go wandering around on our own anymore, it's nothing to do with being a child -"

"Watch where you're sticking that pin, will you!" the other voice snapped.

And there he was, standing in front of the mirror, having Madam Malking pin his new dark green robes. His silvery blonde hair was neatly combed, which framed his pale, pointed face. His grey eyes narrowed when he saw us in the reflection.

"If you're wondering what that smell is, Mother, a couple of Mudbloods just walked in," Malfoy said.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in annoyance. Ron looked like he was going to pounce on him any second.

"Ron, it's okay," I said, "There's no need to get riled up over a simple insult. He's just insecure because those robes make him look gay."

Hermione giggled madly as Malfoy glared at me. His mother was glaring at me as well.

"I don't appreciate what you said to my son," she sneered.

"I don't care," I scoffed.

"You should learn how to talk to your superiors," Mrs. Malfoy said, her nose up in the air.

"So you mean anyone that's _not _you?" I asked.

"How dare you?" she gasped.

"Don't talk to my mother like that," Malfoy defended her.

"Rosaline," Hermione whispered, "You should stop."

"You know what," I said, "I think I should go. I wouldn't want to spill my dirty blood on your clothes...then again, it looks like someone already did."

Malfoy's mother looked like she was going to say something, but I had already left before she could say anything. I walked right past Hagrid and stormed through Diagon Alley. I was mad; mostly because I hoped I wouldn't have to see Malfoy again. But I was going to school with him, so maybe that was a little unlikely for me to not see him.

I knew where I could go. Aaralyn was right down the street for me to talk to.

Aaralyn's POV

School was right around the corner, so the shop was really packed. I had expected Ron, Harry, Rosaline and Hermione to drop by soon since everyone was shopping for school supplies. But so far none of them had shown up. I had a huge feeling that Rosalinew as coming though.

"So when are the rest of the Weasleys coming by?" Verity asked me as we refilled a few shelves.

"Soon," I said, "But Rosaline will be coming at the exact same time that you say 'how do you know that.'"

"How do you know that?" Verity asked.

"Aaralyn!" someone shouted.

"See?" I giggled as I turned around to go to Rosaline.

I hugged her hello and then took over to Verity.

"Verity this is Rosaline," I said, "Rosaline, Verity."

"Hi," Verity smiled.

"Hey," Rosaline waved, "So Aaralyn, where are the pesky twins?"

"They're somewhere around here," I shrugged.

Suddenly I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind.

"Or one of them might be right behind you," George whispered in my ear and then kissed my cheek.

I giggled and turned around to kiss him. My lips pressed passionately against his, which he gladly kissed back to.

"Please," Fred groaned, "There are minors here."

George rolled his eyes and pulled away from me pouting.

"Come on," Fred told George.

George gave me one last kiss, and then pulled away leaving me breathless.

"I'll come back later," he whispered, smirking and then giving me a wink.

As he walked away, I couldn't help but sigh.

"Oh my God," Rosaline chuckled, "I thought I'd never thought I'd see this day; _the _Aaralyn White, sighing romantically."

"Shut up," I playfully rolled my eyes.

I could hear Fred and George's voices from where I was standing.

"Step up, step up!" they said.

"We've got Fainting Fancies, " Fred called.

"- Nosebleed Nougats," George added.

"- And just in time for school," Fred said.

"- Puking Pastilles," George finished.

I giggled and then had Rosaline follow me back down the stairs. I heard the door open and then a happy squeal that was too familiar. I looked up and saw Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Hey!" I waved.

Ginny attacked me with a tight hug and then Hermione hugged me hello. Ron and Harry waved back at me and smiled. Something suddenly caught my eye; the black bruise that circled Hermione's.

"Dude, what did you do?" I giggled, pointing at her eye.

"Well, thanks to your boyfriend and his idiotic twin brother," Hermione hissed, "I now look like half a panda."

That only made me laugh more.

"You squeezed the telescope, didn't you?" I said.

She shyly nodded as her cheeks blossomed in pink colors. I remembered I had the antidote in my pocket, so I pulled it out and handed it to her.

"Obviously Fred and George needed to get rid of it _someway_," I said, "Just dab it on the bruise and it will go away in an hour."

"Thank Merlin," she sighed in relief.

"So this is it?" Ginny smiled.

"Yeah," I sighed, "Welcome to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Take a look around; and ladies, WonderWitch is up the stairs in the pink, bubbly, frilly...section."

And then they were off, exploring the entire shop, looking at new products. George and Fred were already showing Harry the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powders, one of our best-sellers. I walked towards the WonderWitch section and found Rosaline, Ginny and Hermione circled around the flowery tub of love potions.

"Seriously?" I giggled, "You three amuse me."

"Not all of us have boyfriends, Aaralyn," Rosaline stuck out her tongue.

"Hello ladies," two new voices popped in.

"Love potions, eh?" George said, "They really do work."

"Then again," Fred said, "The way we hear it, sis, you're doing just fine on you're own."

"Meaning?" Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Are you not currently dating Dean Thomas?" Fred asked.

Ginny looked at me, slightly glaring, and then turned back to her older brothers.

"It's none of your business," she said, putting down the love potion in her hand and walking away.

"Leave her alone," I said, lightly smacking both of their arms.

"What?" George asked, "We're just looking out for our sister."

"Yeah," Fred added, "Since when was being protective a crime?"

"When you become nosy and _overly _protective," I said, "Just lay off."

"Hey," Ron butted in, "How much for this?" He then held up one of our products.

"Five galleons," Fred and George said.

"How much for me?" Ron asked.

"Five galleons," they repeated.

"But I'm your brother," Ron said.

"_Ten _galleons," they shrugged and then walked away.

Ron frowned and put the item back on the shelf. I walked over to Ginny and Hermione, who were admiring the purple and pink Pygmy Puffs. Ginny looked up at me and then crossed her arms.

"What?" I asked.

"You told them," she frowned.

"No," I said, "I wouldn't do that. I know that I would do a lot of things, but that isn't one of them."

"If you..." she narrowed her and then growled, "_Ron_."

"Okay," I said cautiously, "I'm going to leave you in your...anger."

I slowly walked away and then walked by Harry.

"Keep an eye on Ron," I said as I walked by him, "Make sure he doesn't get killed."

I brushed past him before he could ask anything. I found Verity in the back room, picking up boxes that were spilled all over the floor. She must have knocked them over...again. I got down on the ground and helped her pick up the rest.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem," I said.

I walked back out and found Harry, Hermione and Ron heading for the door.

"You guys leaving already?" I asked.

"Yeah, we've got some more shopping to do," Hermione said, "We'll see you soon."

"Alright, bye," I smiled, "Make sure you guys write during the school year."

"Bye," they said and walked out into the streets of Diagon Alley.

Rosaline and Ginny were still roaming around the shop. Ginny looked like she was scouting out for someone (probably Ron).

"Haven't found him yet, have you?" I asked her.

"No," she growled, "Where's he hiding?"

"He isn't hiding," I said, "He just left the shop with Hermione and Harry."

She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I'll get him when we go home," she said, crossing her arms.

"I think Ginny and I are going to head out, too," Rosaline said.

"Aww, so soon?" I pouted.

"I know, I miss you already," Rosaline teased.

I hugged them each goodbye and watched them leave. I walked back into the back room, seeing Verity still cleaning up.

"How much of a mess did you make?" I asked.

"Do you remember when I spilled all of those love potions on the floor?" Verity asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"This," she said pointing at the mess on the floor, "was a lot easier to clean up than that."

I nodded and then went towards the counter. I spent the next couple of hours checking out items for customers and working the cash register. As the day grew later, the customers started to thin out. I happily sighed when I realized the day was almost over.

The ringing sound of the door opening echoed in my ears. I looked up and my jaw almost dropped to the floor. Professor Dumbledore was standing in front of me.

"Hello Ms. White," he kindly smiled, his ancient eyes sparkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Uh...hi," I said, "Um...I don't mean to be rude, Professor, but...what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I came to see you," he said. "Yes, I know it's quite odd to have me visit a student over the summer," he added when he noticed my confused expression, "But this is has to do with your uncle."

I half-heartedly smiled when he mentioned Sirius. I still missed him and was slowly moving on from his recent death. Sometimes it still hurt to hear about him, but I was learning to accept it.

"I see," I said, "What about Sirius?"

"His will was released a while ago," Dumbledore said, "And he had left something to you."

My eyes widened, mostly from shock. Sirius had left something to me? I didn't think I had known him long enough to be mentioned in his will. Dumbledore lifted, out of nowhere, a medium-sized, dusty, wooden box and handed it to me.

"He left this to you," he said, "Out of politeness and respect of privacy, I did not open it."

"Thank you," I said politely.

"Aaralyn!" George shouted, "Have you seen the - Professor Dumbledore!"

He jumped back at the sight of his old headmaster standing before him. It was am using, but I was too busy looking at the old box to laugh at anything.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore nodded.

"Uh...May I help you with something?" George asked awkwardly.

"Oh, no thank you," Dumbledore said, "I was just leaving. But I must say, I'm impressed with your work."

"Thank you," George said, still not getting over the fact he was talking to Dumbledore in his shop.

"Good day," he smiled, "Good day, Ms. White."

"Goodbye, Professor," I nodded.

Then he walked back out of the shop. George was still standing stiffly in his place, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Sirius left me something in his will," I said.

"Really?" he asked, "What?"

"I don't know yet," I said, "I think I'll go up to the flat."

"You okay?" George asked worriedly.

"Yeah," I nodded unsurely.

Once I reached the flat, I went straight to my room. I placed the box on my bed and sat down in front of it. I stared down at it nervously, wondering if I should open it or leave it closed. Honestly, I was too scared to open it. So I placed it by my nightstand and left it there for the rest of the day.

"Not now," I kept saying to myself.


	43. Memories That Fade Like Photographs

**A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the delay. I would have updated sooner, but I got caught up in getting ready for school. I go back on MONDAY! EEEEP! I'm pretty psyched...but also nervous. I'll be trying update at least every day when the school year starts, but in the beginning of the school year it will be hard to get the routine in. But I'm starting to get to the good stuff. 6th year is EVENTFUL. Drama, suspense, romance, heartbreak, humor, action! A whole bunch of stuff! So in this chapter it is sort of a filler. It's like...a opening to a new adventure chapter. And do you guys remember George's conscience? He's in this chapter! I needed to bring him back at some point! R&R!**

* * *

><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

I had spent the rest of my summer visiting Luna and watching Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny play quidditch in the backyard. I had my occasional fun moments of de-gnoming the garden, talking to Mr. Weasley about muggle devices, or just reading a good book outside.

But today was the last day of summer. So I didn't waste any time packing up my things. I knew that the Weasleys' could tend to be late when going to King's Cross. I had finished packing in an hour. I slowly put away my books, placing them on top of the neatly folded clothes in my trunk. I closed the top and collapsed on my bed in boredom.

Ginny and Hermione suddenly came barging into my room, closing the door quickly behind them.

"Uh..." I looked at them confused, "What's wrong?"

"_Phlegm _is practically torturing us!" Ginny groaned frustratedly.

"We couldn't take it anymore," Hermione shook her head.

"That does sound dreadful," I nodded my head.

"You're so lucky she doesn't like talking to you," Ginny sighed.

"That's only because my hair is blue," I shrugged, "Thankfully she stopped suggesting that I dye it blonde. I mean, seriously? Blonde? If I had to dye my hair a 'normal color,' I'd pick my original hair color."

"You know, I've always wondered," Hermione said, "What is your real hair color?"

"Red," I said.

"Seriously?" Ginny laughed, "If you dye it back I could tell everyone you're my long-lost sister. You'd fit in perfectly."

"I like my hair this way better," I giggled.

"I think red would be cute," Hermione said.

"Not many people know that I'm a natural redhead," I said, "Only you guys, Aaralyn, my dad and...that's it."

"Liar," Ginny immediately said.

"What?" I asked startled.

"You're lying," she smirked, "Who else? And since you left this person out then something important must have happened. So who is it?"

"No one," I said, "Just an old friend. Really, it's nothing."

"Okay," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called from downstairs.

She groaned when she heard her mother beckon her. She dragged her feet across the room and stomped down the steps. Hermione sighed and followed moments later. Once they had left, I sighed deeply and leaned against the headboard of the bed. I had forgotten all about him for a good five weeks...until now.

_No. Shut up. Don't start thinking about him now. You're finally moving on, don't let one stupid memory stop you! Stop thinking about him...Stop thinking about him...Stop thinking about him...You don't care! You do not care!_

Somewhere along the way of mentally scolding myself, I drifted off into a happy, relaxing sleep.

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes to a different surrounding, which obviously meant I was dreaming. I usually didn't enjoy my dreams. Because it all seemed to come back to him. He would be everywhere no matter how hard I tried to forget. Lately I hadn't had one of those dreams. I was only praying my winning streak of no nightmares wouldn't end now.<p>

I heard laughter behind me. When I turned around, I saw 13-year-old Blaine sitting next to the blue-haired 13-year-old me on an old park bench. Here we go again.

"So how long have you had blue hair?" Blaine asked.

"Since I was 10," younger Rosaline said.

"What was your hair color before that?" he then asked.

"Red," she said.

"You were a ginger?" Blaine chuckled.

"Shut up," Rosaline rolled her eyes.

"No, it's not bad," he suppressed a laugh.

"I knew you'd laugh," she scoffed.

"I didn't mean it," Blaine sighed, "Seriously, red's not that bad. But I honestly like blue better."

She blushed and quickly looked away to hide her red cheeks. She spent awhile looking down at her hands.

"So today's my last day," she sighed, changing the subject.

"Yeah," Blaine said, "Tomorrow you'll be on a plane to Hong Kong."

"Yeah," she nodded awkwardly.

"Why do you have to go?" Blaine pouted childishly.

"Because my dad said so," she shrugged.

Blaine rolled his eyes and then smirked to himself.

"You won't last two days without me," he chuckled.

"Yeah," Rosaline said sarcastically, "How can I live without hearing your obnoxious comments?"

"Exactly," Blaine said, "Face it, you need me."

"Yeah right," Rosaline scoffed.

"Whatever," he said, "Just pray that the Asians don't take your soul."

"They won't take my soul," she laughed.

"Yes they will!" Blaine said, "And you obviously want to keep your soul, so now you have to stay here."

"I knew it," Rosaline giggled.

"What?"

"I don't need you. _You're _the one who needs _me_."

"Please. I'll be fine without you. There are plenty of things to do here without you."  
>"Like what?"<p>

Blaine paused and pretended to be in thought, only making Rosaline laugh more. He broke out into a smile and laughed with her.

"Alright you caught me. I'm going to miss you, Rosie."

"I'll miss you, too."

"Why Hong Kong?" Blaine asked suddenly.

"I don't know," Rosaline shrugged, "Maybe because it's _really _far from here. And the farther, the better."

"Is it really that bad here?"

"Everyone here hates me, Blaine."

"Not true," Blaine said, making Rosaline look up at him hopefully, "You're dad obviously loves you. Because otherwise you'd probably be in a foster home, like me."

She lightly chuckled and playfully shoved his shoulder. Blaine laughed at his own joke and shoved her back. Slowly the two 13-year-olds started to fade away in front of me. Soon they were gone, and I was all alone again. Now was about the time when the _real _Blaine would pop up and act like the douchebag he always was.

"Such a cheerful memory," a familiar voice chuckled, "What made you think of this day?"

I looked over my shoulder and found Blaine standing a few feet behind me. I wasn't going to let him get to me this time. I turned my head back forward and started walking. I heard him call my name but I ignored him. Suddenly Blaine was right next to me, wrapping his arms tightly around me.

"Did you seriously think you could get away that easily?" he smirked.

"Let go," I growled.

"I don't feel like it," he shrugged.

"Let go," I repeated, "_Now_."

"Oh, someone's being bitchy," Blaine teased.

I managed to get out of his grip and walk away. But he followed me, the one thing I didn't want right now.

"Come on, Rosie," he sighed, "You're not mad."

"How do you know I'm not?" I hissed.

"Because I know you," he smirked, "You can't stay mad at me for five minutes. You always come crawling back."

"Not this time," I said, glaring into his green eyes.

"Liar," he shook his head.

"I'm not lying," I growled.

"You're a liar, Rosie," he chuckled, "And you're a coward. A liar, a coward...and a _freak_."

The words started to echo in my head over and over again: liar, coward, freak, liar, coward, freak. I started to grow short of breath from panicking. He called me a freak, when I remembered he had promised to never call me that. No matter how hard I tried to get it out of my head, it wouldn't go away. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my ears with the palms of my hands, hoping the echoes would go away, but it was still there.

_Go away, go away, go away...Please, go away._

I opened my eyes again and saw it was dark all around me, but the voices were still there. I screamed bloody murder, digging my nails frustratedly into my head. Why wouldn't it go away?

I jumped from my bed, quietly shrieking as I woke. It was dark out, and dead silent in the house. Everyone was still asleep, dreaming happily and sleeping soundly. I sighed deeply and leaned my back against headboard. I looked out the small window to my right, seeing the bright moon beaming down at me. Several tiny stars were splashed into the midnight sky, making it faintly glitter. How could such a beautiful night be one of the worst nights of my life?

George's POV

"George," someone said quietly, "George. _George_. George, wake up!"

My eyes shot open and I looked around my dark room to see who was waking me up. I thought it was probably Fred, but I didn't see him anywhere. I narrowed my eyes curiously as I tried to find who it was. I rolled my eyes and shrugged as I started to go back to sleep.

"Don't go back to sleep," someone snapped.

The sound of the sudden voice made me jump from my bed. I stood up and quickly looked around the room again. Who the bloody hell was that?

"Chill, mate, it's me," the voice said.

I looked towards the dark corner by my door. A figure started to form in the shadows and stepped forward. He wasn't anyone I knew, but I felt like I'd seen him from somewhere. I raised an eyebrow and looked up and down at him. He dressed in all black and had a black and white checkered wristband on his wrist. Where had I seen him before? His dark brown eyes glinted as he smirked at me.

"Is this any way to great your conscience?" he asked.

My eyes widened in realization. I remembered when I had first met him in the common room. Well it was a dream that took place in the common...but still, it was the same thing. I also remembered him being a real arsehole.

"Oh," I sighed, "It's you."

"Nice to see you, too," he said sarcastically.

"What do you want?" I sighed annoyed.

"I figured that since I hadn't seen you in a while, I'd stop by and say hello," he said.

"Really?" I asked, not believing him.

"No," he shook his head, "I missed messing with your head."

"How lovely," I scoffed.

"I did want to talk to you about something," he said, leaning against the door.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing much," he shrugged, "Just some upcoming events."

"Merlin's beard," I muttered when I realized what he was talking about.

"So you know what I'm talking about," he chuckled.

"I don't need your opinion," I said.

"Ouch," he fake-winced, "I'm hurt."

"Sod off," I rolled my eyes.

"If you keep treating me like this, I might not help when you really need it," he said.

"When will I ever want your help?" I asked.

"I don't know honestly," he said.

"Alright, let's get this over with," I sighed, "What did you want to say?"

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that you might want to hold it off for a bit," he said, "For maybe...forever."

"I knew you'd say that," I chuckled dully.

"Oh, come on," he said, "The idea _is _a little insane. I know your mother disagrees, but that's your mum, it doesn't count. And your brother doesn't count either. You two got the same mind."

"Anyone who disagrees with you doesn't count as an opinion," I said.

"True," he shrugged.

"How about we make a deal?" I said, "I hold it off until Bill and Fleur's wedding. That would be until next summer, so it's basically a year."

He groaned, wanting to object but sighed instead. He stayed silent for a while, obviously thinking about it and then nodded.

"Okay," he said, "I think it's still mental, but okay. You go and do...whatever. Well, I best be going. It's morning."

I looked out my window and frowned. It was still dark out. I turned back around to tell him wrong, but he was gone. Suddenly a new voice slowly started to call to me.

Aaralyn's POV

I opened the door to George's room and poked my head in. He was still in his bed, sleeping soundly.

"George," I whispered, "George, wake up."

I smirked and walked over to his side. I leaned down to his ear while running my hand through his red hair.

"George," I repeated little louder, "George."

He groaned a little, acknowledging that he was slightly awake. I was now centimeters from his face, and slowly started to close the gap between. My lips brushed gently against his, teasing him slightly. I started to pull away, when George suddenly wrapped his arms around me tightly and pulled me back down to him. I gasped as he turned over, making him on top of me. His eyes were wide open now, sparkling down at mine brightly. He smirked and kissed me sweetly yet roughly. He pulled away just slightly, leaving me me breathless.

"I told you not to tease me," he whispered against my lips.

I giggled and pulled him back to my lips. I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck as I felt one of his hands running up my back to the back of my neck to keep me on his lips. I could feel his tongue brushing slowly across my bottom lip. The cool feeling of his tongue made me gasp, parting my lips just enough to let him enter. His tongue danced against mine passionately mine. I pulled away moments later, out of breath and heart racing madly. I rested my forehead against George's and looked deeply into his eyes.

"We have to go to work," I whispered.

George groaned disappointingly. I tried to slip away from his grasp, but he held on tighter.

"I don't want to leave," he muttered, "Can't we skip work?"

"No," I giggled, "Now get up. We're opening up the shop soon."

I finally pulled away from him and walked out of his room. I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee.

"Is he up yet?" Fred asked.

"He should be now," I sighed.

"Oh, Aaralyn!" Fred gasped, "That's disgusting!"

"Shut up, I didn't mean it that way," I rolled my eyes, "...Well, not exactly."

"Ugh," he stuck out his tongue, "Excuse me while I go vomit."

He stood up, put his coffee mug in the sink and walked towards the door that led downstairs.

"I'm going to open up the shop," he said.

"I'll be down in a second," I said.

Fred closed the door behind him. I finished my coffee and put the empty mug in the sink. Suddenly a pair of long arms wrapped around me from behind. One arm stayed strongly against me as the other brushed the hair off my shoulder. George lightly kissed my neck, making me feel weak and..._giggly_.

"St-st-stop," I stuttered, "George, kn-knock it off."

"I know you don't mean that," he whispered seductively.

_Don't give in. Don't give in. Don't give in._

I sighed deeply and turned around, still wrapped in George's arms. I kissed him roughly and held on tightly. He seemed a little shocked but gladly kissed back. Seconds later I pulled away and smirked.

"Fred just opened up the shop," I said, "Time for work."

I walked out the door, leaving George shocked and breathless. I walked down the stairs, seeing that the business was already running. Several kids were already in the shop with their parents. Since school had started today, there weren't that many older kids in the shop. It also meant business would be a little slower than usual, but nothing drastic.

* * *

><p>About a few hours into work, I took a break. I went back up to the flat and poured a cup of tea. I leaned against the counter and let the warm liquid run happily through my body. I had fifteen minutes left before I had to go back to work, which left me wondering on what to do. Then I remembered there was still an old box from Sirius that I needed to open. But my gut kept telling me not to. Why though? What's in there?<p>

"The hell with it," I muttered.

I set the tea on the counter and walked into my room, where the dusty box sat. I sat down on my bed, setting the box on my lap. I brushed the palm of my hand over the top and let the dust fly away from the surface. I opened up the top, holding my breath every second. I released it in relief when I saw nothing freaky in it. Just a few photographs (charmed of course), a journal, and an old velvet box.

I picked up the photos, looking at each one at a time. The first one was a picture of two teenaged boys sitting in the study in Grimmauld. They were both quite handsome, one had curlier hair than the other and also looked older, which made me recognize him as Sirius. So that meant the other one was Regulus, my dad. They looked at each other with secret scowls, showing their hate for each other. I smirked and set the picture down. I picked up the next one showing a young woman, sitting by a fountain reading a book. She had long black hair that curled elegantly. She looked up at the camera and smiled, then laughed and looked back down at her book. She was my mom; she was Annabeth. I smiled at her, watching the scene replay over and over again. I never got to know her; or her smile, laugh, or even the sound of her voice. I turned to the next photo and smiled brightly. Regulus and Annabeth were in each others arms, she was wearing a beautiful white dress and he was wearing a well fitted suit. It was their wedding. Mom was smiling brighter than any other picture, and Dad's eyes were sparkling like diamonds. They were so happy.

I saw the journal buried underneath the photographs and picked it up. The pages were yellowing with age and the leather cover was starting to crack and peel. I opened it to were the black ribbon was bookmarked. Faded black ink was scratched into the pages in an elegant scribble. It read:

_The Dark Lord is rising, more powerful every day. I feel honored to be able to serve him. My parents would be proud of me. The only one who hates my good deeds is Sirius. He just _has _to be the rebellious child, doesn't he?..._

At that moment I could tell it was Dad's. I'm pretty sure Mom wouldn't write anything about this; unless she joined the Death Eaters without anyone knowing. I continued to flip through the pages, until I found the perfect entry.

_My parents always told me that they would find the perfect wife for me; a pureblood with a wealthy family. But now these days, wizards are marrying mudbloods, elves, even _muggles_! It's mad. Even though I knew marrying a pureblood was the right thing to do for the family name, it didn't feel right. How am I supposed to love someone I barely know? Mother keeps telling me that I'll grow to love her, but my parents were arranged to be married and they aren't exactly that happy being together. If they aren't found of each other, then how will I handle it?_

_ I lost complete faith until today. I was walking through a small muggle town, which was unfortunately a shortcut to the Death Eater meeting. Could it get any worse? Apparently it could because then it started to rain; just my luck. Several muggles rushed back into their houses or started to run to their destination. I only walked. But then I stopped, because I saw something. A young woman, obviously a muggle, was still out in the freezing, pouring rain. She was looking up to the gray sky and laughing. Her smile lit up in the gloomy town. Her long, dark, curly hair was drenched and clinging to her body. She started to twirl and dance to the sound of the rain. She spun in a full circle, her dress twirling with her as she moved, and laughed loudly. It rung out in the quiet street, and made my heart leap out of my chest. I had never seen such a beautiful, care-free girl. She stopped and then turned towards me. Her eyes look at me curiously, when I realized I was still staring at her...possibly smiling. I snapped back to reality and walked away. My heart was aching every step farther away from her graceful figure. I had an urge to walk right up to her and kiss her soft, beautifully pale lips. I wanted to hear her laugh every second of the day and only look at her smile._

He was talking about Mom. She sounded amazing. For a moment I felt like my dad, dying to hear her laugh and watch her smile. I almost felt tears prickling in my eyes, which I quickly wiped away. I closed the journal and set it on my nightstand with the photos. The last thing in the box was the old velvet box. I opened it and saw a golden chain with a medium-sized teardrop diamond hanging from it. It must have been Mom's; maybe Dad gave it to her, or her parents.

"Aaralyn," George's voice called me. I looked up and saw him walking into my room.

"You okay?" he asked.

I nodded and closed the velvet box. I put the photos and journal in the box with the necklace and closed the box. As I set it back on my nightstand I got up and went back to work. Dad's words still flew in my mind. The image of Mom dancing in the rain made me smile. The photographs were stuck in my mind like tattoos. It's Sirius gave me everything I wanted to know, and I didn't even ask.

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><p><strong>AN: We finally find out what's in the box! Hooray! So go review and tell what you thought of the chapter! And I apologize if it kinda sucked, I haven't written in a while.**


	44. The Series of Unfortunate Classes

**A/N: YES! FINALLY! IT'S FINALLY DONE! Goddamn that took bloody long to finish. I would like to say that I am TERRIBLY sorry for the ginormous delay in this chapter. My classes are a lot more work than they were last year. And then I started taking up bass, so that decreased the amount of time I had to write. But I already planned out a special schedule for myself so that I manage to get the chapters done faster. And my dad finally got internet so I can post chapters over there, too! So anyways, R&R!**

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><p><span>Rosaline's POV<span>

The train ride felt like it stretched on for years. But that was only because Hermione and Ron were off on prefect duties and Harry was invited to sit with the "Slug Club." It sounds so repulsive, but it's supposed to be a club for special and interesting people. Ginny had been chosen to sit with them as well; all because Slughorn caught her hexing Zacharias Smith. Even Neville Longbottom got in! I was left in an empty compartment for most of the ride. Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Neville did end up coming back, but Harry didn't. And when the train stopped at Hogwarts, he still didn't show up. I didn't even see him get off the train.

"Where did Harry go?" I asked Ginny.

"I don't know," she frowned, "He's probably went ahead of everyone else."

_Hopefully_, I thought as I nodded. When everyone was loading onto to the carriages, I still couldn't find him. And then when we reached Hogwarts and everyone walked into the Great Hall, I still didn't see him. Right now everyone was settling in and enjoying their dinner while I anxiously scanned the room for Harry. It wasn't until then that I noticed that Luna wasn't here either.

"Who are you looking for?" someone asked me.

I jumped in my seat, startled at the sudden voice. I turned to see Luna was sitting next to me.

"Are you secretly a ninja or something?" I asked, "Because you are a really quiet walker."

Luna narrowed her eyes curiously at me and tilted her head to the side. She looked at me as if I said something incredibly weird and unheard of; yeah, Loony Lovegood was looking at _me _like that.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"Oh, never mind," I sighed, "It's a muggle thing."

She shrugged and continued to eat. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table, hoping to find Harry sitting with Hermione and Ron, but he wasn't. Hermione was currently glaring at Ron anxiously when she suddenly smacked Ron's shoulder repeatedly with her book. He defended himself and nodded his head toward the doors. I turned my head with them and saw Harry, with blood running from his nose. What the hell happened to him?

I suddenly had an odd feeling that someone was watching me. I glanced over my shoulder, and saw Malfoy staring at me. His eyes shifted away towards Harry and he smirked. My eyes widened when I realized, _he _broke Harry's nose.

_That low, dirty, foul, slimy, no-good..._

"...son of a bitch," I finished my thought.

"Hm?" Luna said.

"Did I say that out loud?" I asked.

"I believe so," she said, "What for?"

"Nothing," I shook my head. "Just thinking about someone," I added as I glared at Malfoy one last time.

Suddenly the entire room went quiet. I looked up towards the staff table and saw that Dumbledore was ready to make an announcement.

"The very best of evenings to you!" he smiled as he opened his arms wide. By doing that, he made it very noticeable that his right hand was blackened and withered like a dying plant. I wasn't the only one to notice, because several whispers started to echo in the room. Dumbledore seemed to notice as well, so he gracefully covered his injured hand with a shake of his long sleeve.

"Nothing to worry about," he said airily. "Now...to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you..."

"What do you think happened to his hand?" Luna whispered.

"Maybe he burned it," I shrugged, "Or...that was all I could think of."

"...and Mr. Filch, our caretaker," Dumbledore continued, "has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

_Aw, poor Aaralyn, George and Fred are going to be really disappointed when they find this out. And I was looking forward to pranking Filch!_

"Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member to staff this year. Professor Slughorn is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

"Potions?" I whispered to myself. "Did I hear that right?"

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," Dumbledore added, "will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"What?" I whispered/yelled.

"No!" Harry yelled quite loudly, causing plenty of heads to turn towards him. An immediate eruption of talking spread through the great hall.

"Is he insane?" I asked Luna. "Hiring Snape as the Defense Against the Dark Arts master is like putting a monkey in a room full of dynamite and handing him a match."

"What?" Luna asked confused.

"It should be discouraged," I explained.

Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly, causing us to turn back to him.

"Now," he said as the room was quiet again, "as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength."

Tension thickened in the air as many of the students shivered at the sound of Voldemort's name. If Dumbledore had said this last year, very few of the students would have believed him. But a lot had changed over that year.

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them - in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of bed after hours, I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety."

He looked over all of us once more before he smiled once again.

"But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip, pip!"

At that note, all of the students stood from their seats and hurried out of the Great Hall. I got up to leave with them when Professor McGonagall called me back.

"Miss Moriali," she said, "I'd like to see you for a moment."

I nervously walked over, hoping I wasn't in trouble already (which, when you think about it, is physically impossible).

"Yes, Professor?" I asked.

"This is for you," she said, handing me a folded piece of paper. "Now go follow your classmates."

"Yes, Professor," I nodded and walked away.

I opened the folded paper to see it was a note from Dumbledore.

_Dear Rosaline,_

_ I would like for you to see me in my office tomorrow before classes at 6 a.m. I_

_ hope you enjoy your 6th year at Hogwarts._

_ Yours Sincerely,_

_ Albus Dumbledore_

_ P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops._

I didn't exactly understand what this was for. And whatever it was, what did Acid Pops have to do with it?

Aaralyn's POV

I couldn't sleep. It wasn't because I wasn't tired, because trust me, after working all day, I definitely was. Something just felt...unsettling, odd, and not normal. I couldn't put my finger on it though; that's what kept me up. I finally was tired of tossing and turning in my bed and got up to go to the kitchen. I stepped into the hall and quietly tip-toed in the dark. Suddenly I heard a voice, it was soft and melodic. It didn't sound like George or Fred, or anyone I knew. I thought the voice came from behind me, but I didn't see anything when I turned around. Then again, it was practically pitch black, so it would be hard to see anything.

Things started to become clearer in front of me; not because my eyes were adjusting to the darkness, because a light was slowly growing at the end of the hall from behind me. I turned back around and saw a door, a door I had never seen before. It was cracked open, letting a white light pour out from the opening. I was curious to know what was behind it. I slowly walked towards it, the closer I got, the clearer the voice was. It was a woman's voice.

I brought my hand forward and gently pushed the door open. It gracefully swung back and light stretched out beyond the mysterious room. It cleared, and showed what was definitely not a regular room. I was outside, in a garden. A tiny pond was in the center with several small lily pads sitting on the surface. Next to the pond was an oak tree. Its branches stretched out far and grew vibrant green leaves, and its trunk twisted with age. A swing was tied onto one of the bigger branches. It was a simple swing made out of rope and a plank of wood. You could tell that it had been there for a while, since there were vines wrapping around the top of the rope. I smiled at how beautiful the place was. But I was still confused on how all of this could fit in one room. I watched as a butterfly fluttered over the wild flowers. Its velvet black wings softly flapped and stretched gracefully. There wasn't any distinctive color in its wings; it was all a deathly black.

A sudden giggle interrupted my thoughts. I turned towards the swing, and saw her. She was sitting on the swing, softly swaying back and forth, her long dark curls flying behind her. Her brown eyes glittered happily as she smiled brightly at the feeling of what almost felt like flying. She looked over at me and smiled even brighter.

"Mom?" I whispered.

"Aaralyn," a voice said, "Aaralyn."

I snapped back to reality and looked over to see George staring at me.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, "It's 3 in the morning."

I looked around me and noticed I was standing in the living room. I didn't remember coming in here, but I did remember being in a garden. It should have been right where I was standing right now, but it wasn't. I looked around confused and somewhat lost.

"I don't know," I whispered.

George looked at me worried and then grabbed my hand. He gently tugged me away from the living room and led me back to my room. He kissed my forehead and whispered good night to me and then went back to his room. I sighed and slipped back under the covers.

"It was nothing," I said to myself, "I was just sleep walking."

I slowly closed my eyes and sighed away into a deep sleep. I could hear my own voice echoing in my head, telling me everything was fine and nothing bad would happen. But lying to yourself just makes things worse.

Rosaline's POV

I woke up early so that I could see Dumbledore on time. There's no need to be late on your first day. Not that many people were up this early, so I had the common room to myself until it was time to leave. I loved wearing my Hogwarts uniform once again. I know, most people don't usually say those words, but it reminds me of better days.

I quietly slipped out of the common room so I wouldn't wake anyone. I walked down the empty hallways until I finally reached the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office; which unfortunately reminded me that you needed the password in order to get in. Why didn't he put _that _in the note?

"Crap," I sighed quietly, "Uh...is it lemon drops? No, he's already used that. Pumpkin pasties?...No...Wait..."

I pulled the note out from my pocket and re-read it.

"Oh," I said, "Acid Pops."

The gargoyle jumped from its post and the door opened. I walked in and then knocked on the door that opened to his office.

"Enter," his ancient voice called from the other side.

I opened the door, and there he was, sitting at his desk as usual. His vibrant red phoenix sat on it's stand beside Dumbledore's chair.

"Have a seat, Miss Moriali," he said.

I sat down in the seat that was placed in front of his desk. I still didn't know what I was here for.

"I can tell that you're confused about your purpose of being called," he said calmly, "Since it is usually your friend, Miss White, who gets called to the headmaster."

I only nodded. If I said something, or should I say tried to say something I'd fail.

"Would you feel better if I told you that you weren't in trouble?" he asked.

"Oh thank God," I sighed in relief, which caused Dumbledore to chuckle lightly.

"Since you were here for the O.W.L.s," he explained, "And since you have no magical talent, I will assign your classes."

I didn't if that was a good thing or a bad thing; in some ways it's good...but most of the non-magic classes can be dull.

"You will be taking Care of Magical Creatures," he listed, "Herbology, Potions, Divination, and History of Magic."

Great, I have to take History of Magic. I hated that class. Who could _like _that class? Well the bright side is I didn't have a class with Snape. He _still _disturbs. And I have Hagrid! So maybe it won't be that bad.

"If there is any difficulty in your classes, you can visit me," Dumbledore suggested, "Or do what your friends do, see Miss Granger."

"Thank you, Professor," I smiled, "Is that all?"

"Yes you may leave," he said, "Everyone should be in the Great Hall now."

I stood up and started to walk to the door when he called me again.

"You're safe now," his eyes twinkled as he smiled, "Chances are small that you will be found again."

"Thank you," I said once again, "For everything. This is coming from me and Aaralyn."

"It's my pleasure," he said.

I then left and headed towards the Great Hall. My stomach kept quietly growling at me to fill it. I was surprised I managed to keep it under control when talking to Dumbledore. I walked into the Great Hall and sat next to Luna.

"You missed the announcement," Luna said.

"What was it about?" I asked.

"After breakfast we are to see our Heads of Houses to arrange our schedules," she said. "What did you apply for?"

"Apply?" I frowned, "Uh - I mean, I applied for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, Herbology, Divination and History of Magic."

"Really?" she asked, "It's a shame you can't take any classes with magic involved, considering your...situation."

"Right," I nodded, "How about we _don't _talk about it in public places; such as..._here_. Anywhere else really, just not here."

"Alright," she said. "Well I'm finished. Let's go, people are already leaving."

We both got up and followed all of the Ravenclaws to Professor Flitwick's office. We all waited outside until Flitwick came out and called a student. One by one a student went in, got a schedule and then left. There was no point in being here since I already had my schedule. So I made an excuse of needing to go to the bathroom just so I could leave. I had some time to kill until actual classes started.

"Rosaline!" someone shouted at me.

I turned around and saw Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

"You already got you're schedule?" Ron asked, "So did we. What do you have?"

Before I could answer, he took my schedule.

"You're taking History of Magic? _And _Divination?" Ron gasped. "Are you bloody mad?"

"It's not like I had a choice," I said. "There aren't that many non-magic-using classes that _aren't _boring."

"Well at least we have Potions together," Harry said. "Hey, you're taking Care of Magical Creatures."

"You guys aren't?" I frowned.

"We kind of...didn't want to," Hermione admitted. "Hagrid is a good teacher, but the animals aren't that pleasant."

"It's not _that _bad," I shrugged. "And he might do better this year."

"That's as likely as me becoming the Minister of Magic," Ron scoffed.

"Even Neville Longbottom has a better chance than _you _at becoming the Minister of Magic," I snapped.

Hermione and Harry giggled as Ron scowled at me.

"I'm gonna head back to the common room," I said, "I'll see you guys later."

My schedule was exactly: Free Period, Herbology, Divination, Free Period/Break, Potions, Lunch, Free Period, History of Magic. All the free periods were obviously for homework and studying; I could already tell that I was going to have so much homework. Herbology was as usual, messy. I had Divination with Professor Trelawney. I was actually happy to have her instead of that judgey centaur, what's-his-face. During the next free period I spent writing a 15-inch essay on the Fanged Geranium for Herbology and a 12-inch essay on the proper interpretation of smoke patterns for Divination. I only had 10 minutes left when I started to write a letter to Aaralyn.

And now I was dragging my tired feet to the dungeons to go to Potions. At least I won't be stuck with Lavender Brown in this class, hopefully. A bunch of students were crowded in front of the door, waiting for Professor Slughorn. I managed to find Hermione, Ron and Harry. Unfortunately Ernie Macmillan was with them as well. But then something even worse happened, I saw Draco Malfoy; which meant he was in this class.

The door opened and Slughorn let everyone enter. Surprisingly, the dungeon was filled with a wide variation of fumes. We all sat together at the four-seated table near the gold cauldron. The most attractive smell was floating from the liquid within it. It reminded me of freshly picked strawberries, burning wood, sharpies, and one of my dad's t-shirts. The incredible scent consumed me completely and made feel happy and dazed, maybe almost loving. And whatever it was, it was working on everyone at our table. Harry and Ron both looked like they were on drugs.

"Now then, now then, now then," Slughorn started, "Scales out, everyone, and potion kits, and don't forget your copies of _Advanced Potion-Making_..."

"Sir," Harry raised his hand.

"Harry, m'boy?"

"I haven't got a book or scales or anything - nor's Ron - we didn't realize we'd be able to do the N.E.W.T., you see -"

"Ah, yes, Professor McGonagall did mention..." Slughorn sighed, "not to worry, my dear boy, not to worry at all. You can use ingredients from the store cupboard today, and I'm sure we can lend you some scales, and we've got a small stock of old books here, they'll do until you can write to Flourish and Blotts..."

Slughorn handed them the materials they needed, including two extremely battered and aging books and old, tarnished scales. At least they don't have to keep them forever.

"Now then," Slughorn continued, "I've prepared a few potions for you to look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of things you ought to be able to make after completing your N.E.W.T.s. You ought to have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet." He then pointed to the cauldron near the table infested with Slytherins, and asked, "Anyone tell me what this one is?"

Hermione's hand instantly shot up in the air, as usual. Then Slughorn pointed at her for her to answer.

"It's Veritaserum," she answered, "a colorless, odorless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth."

"Very good, very good!" Slughorn smiled, and then continued to the cauldron next to the Ravenclaw table. "Now, this one here is pretty well known...Featured in a few Ministry leaflets lately too...Who can-?"

Hermione's hand was already in the air.

"It's Polyjuice Potion, sir," she said.

Harry grimaced when he saw the substance in the cauldron. It was gray and mud-like, rather foul looking. I already knew he had an unsightly experience with that potion. As amusing as it is, it's also gross.

"Excellent," he said. "Now this one here...yes, my dear?" Slughorn pointed to Hermione, again.

"It's Amortentia!"

"It is indeed. It seems almost foolish to ask, but I assume you know what it does?"  
>"It's the most powerful love potion in the world."<br>That was a dumb question. Of course she knew.

"Quite right!" Slughorn said, "You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?"

"And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," Hermione intellectually stated, "and it's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mowed grass and new parchment and-"

She stopped herself from finishing her sentence and turned slightly pink. I quietly giggled and playfully glared at me.

"May I ask your name, my dear?" Slughorn asked.

"Hermione Granger," she said.

"Granger? Granger? Can you possibly be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"No, I don't think so, sir. I'm Muggle-born, you see."

I noticed Malfoy whisper something to another Slytherin, causing them to snigger. I then had the greatest urge to shoot my quill square between his eyes. Where's Aaralyn when you need her? I was too busy glaring at the Slytherin table to notice that Slughorn had asked me something.

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"I asked you if you were a Metamorphmagus," he repeated.

"Oh, no, sir," I said, "This is my actual hair. Well - not natural, it just doesn't change color."

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Rosaline Moriali," I said.

"I'm familiar with any Morialis in the wizarding world," he said.

"I'd be surprised if you were," I said, "I'm a Muggle-born as well."

I had expected Malfoy to make another sneer comment to his friends, but he didn't. He just sat there and stared out the window; odd. I didn't care honestly. Anyway, we continued our class. We were to make the Draught of Living Death, which was very difficult. And surprisingly, Harry managed to get it done. He said it was a lucky guess, but it didn't look like he was following the actual directions. The book never said crush sopophorous bean.


	45. The HalfBlood Prince

**A/N: You're never going to believe how sorry I am for such a dreadfully long wait. I actually had started writing this chapter but it all of a sudden DISAPPEARED. It was blank. And I was like, "What the fuuuuuuuuuuck?" I literally screamed. I wanted to murder my dinosaur of a laptop. And then even worse, my O key broke. And don't think perverted like you dirty people, I'm actually talking about the O key on my keyboard. My idiot friend yanked it off (but I still love her). Soooo anyways, R&R! Hope you guys love it!**

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><p>I opened my eyes and everything is in black and white. And I'm serious, not a single thing was in color. White clouds stretched across the off-white sky; the grass was dark gray; I raised my hand in front of me and gazed curiously at my light gray skin. I looked ahead and saw a narrow path stretch in front of me.<p>

Without realizing it, I started walking forward. Further and further done the path I went. So far, nothing was to be seen; all except for charcoal trees that gracefully yet mysteriously swayed in the silent wind. What was the point of walking? Apparently my legs thought otherwise, because they continued to move forward. It was as if they had a mind of their own.

Suddenly a house appeared at the end of the path. It was odd though; it didn't appear from behind a hill or from behind a patch of trees, it just popped out of nowhere. From the looks of the outside of it, it seemed abandoned. All of the windows were broken and had black shutters dangling from their rusty hindges. The creme colored paint had already started pealing from wood. Just looking at the house caused a disturbing chill to run up and down my spine. I didn't want to go in, but for some reason I was walking up the porch steps to open the front door.

The wood creaked with age as I walked up each step. The wood of the door was splintered and cracked; it looked like it would collapse with a single touch. I noticed it was slightly opened. With a small tap, the door swung open. Dark shadows swarmed the inside with the dust and smell of age. I walked in cautiously, looking suspiciously at every corner that was in my sight.

A hallway stood before me. At the end of it was a door. Light spilled out from where it was slightly opened. I walked down the hall, slowly inching closer and closer to the door. Once I reached it, I had trouble deciding whether to go in or not; but I did anyway. It was a bright, white kitchen...and it was covered in blood. I knew it was blood, because where it was splattered, it was bright red. It was everywhere; on the counter, the table, the floor, the cabinets, everywhere. It flowed on the tiled floor in rivers with occasional puddles from where it dripped from the edge of the table. I felt nauseous from looking at it. Fear rattled bone-deep within me. That was when I heard a growl.

It was low, deep, and strained; it almost reminded me of a monster in pain. The growl was coming from somewhere in the room. It wasn't long until I realized it was from under the table. I was too scared to look underneath it to see what was there, but that source of the growl sadly made it easier for me. A rotting, fleshy, pealing arm flung out from under the table and grabbed onto my ankle. I screamed and managed to pull away from its grasp.

I ran towards the end of the hall and started to pull the door opened, but it was locked. I tugged and twisted the doorknob but it still wouldn't budge. My fear increased along with my heartbeat. The uneven beat of footsteps started to echo in the house, the monster was coming closer. The growl became louder, with more anger and hunger. I wanted to escape, I wanted to get the hell out of here, but it was too late. I was going to die here.

The monster was right behind me. Its foul breath hit my skin, making the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A pair of grotesque, bony hands gripped onto my arms. I screamed loudly and shut my eyes tightly. I just hoped that whatever this thing, this beast was going to do to me would be over quick. I wanted to die and die soon.

"Wake up!" a deep, demonic voice yelled at me.

I didn't respond. I didn't open my eyes. I just kept screaming.

"Wake up!" it repeated, "Wake up!"

"Wake up, Aaralyn!" a softer, familiar voice then spoke.

I was still screaming, my eyes were still closed, and that voice was still yelling at me.

"Aaralyn, wake up!" it said again. I started to realize that I knew that voice. At that moment, my screaming stopped and I finally opened my eyes. George was standing over me, grasping onto my shoulders tightly. Sweat broke onto his forehead, worry was drowning in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I remained silent. I didn't want to bother him again with another nightmare. For the past four nights it had been nothing but nightmares. And after every nightmare, I woke up screaming. I couldn't go on like this. But I couldn't stop it, because I didn't know why this was happening. So how could I tell George that I was okay when I didn't even know what was wrong?

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Are you sure?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah," I whispered. "I'll just go back to sleep."

"You sure you're going to be okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," I lied again.

"You don't need me to stay with you?" he asked.

"No," I said, lying back down.

George sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked back at me with the same expression he had when he first came in. My lying wasn't convincing him, but instead of confronting me about it, he just kissed my forehead and walked out of the room. Maybe he thought that I would hopefully fall asleep like I promised, but like I said before, I was lying.

So I didn't go back to sleep. I stayed curled up in my bed and gazed out the window. Several stars poked through the black clouds that surround the midnight sky. And slowly I watched the midnight sky turn into the pinks, oranges, yellows, purples and blues of dawn. The sun slowly rose from behind the buildings of Diagon Alley. The birds started to sing at the sign that it was morning. Soon everyone else would wake up, and not from the horrible nightmares that I have had to deal with every night.

Rosaline's POV

It seemed like I never had any free time anymore. Even Hagrid was assigning essays that had to be as long as my arm. Every free period I had, I was always doing homework. So here I was now, sitting in the Gryffindor common room with Hermione, Harry, and Ron, working on our Potions assignment. Luckily I was almost finished with the assignment. Hermione was already finished and was already halfway through her Ancient Runes homework. Ron and, surprisingly, Harry were still struggling.

"Why is Slughorn making us write a 12-inch-essay?" Harry whined.

"Well, look at this, Hermione," I teased, "Harry Potter, Slughorn's top student, actually doesn't want to do the Potions homework."

"Huh, well fancy that," Hermione said sarcastically.

"Sod off," Harry mumbled.

"Come on, Harry," I giggled, "We're only joking. But seriously, how are passing this class without cheating off of Hermione?"

"I guess Slughorn is a better teacher," he shrugged.

"Not even," Ron said. "Even_ I _don't think Slughorn is a better teacher."

"Ok, fine," Harry sighed. "The truth is, I've been getting help."

"You don't say?" I asked sarcastically.

"Do you want to hear this or not?" he frowned.

"Ok, ok," I said, "Continue."

"It's the textbook."

"As in, your actually _reading it _this year?" I asked.

"No," Harry glared at me. "The previous owner left edits and answers in the margins."

"So you have been cheating," Ron said.

"Not exactly," Harry said. "But that's basically why I'm passing this class."

He pulled out his second-hand book. He flipped through the pages, showing us the ink scratched into the margins, just like he said.

"Do you know who the last owner was?" Hermione asked.

"No idea," he shrugged, "It's says 'Property of the Half-Blood Prince,' but that's it. Look, here are directions for this one spell that looks like he made up himself."

"Or herself," Hermione said irritably. "It might have been a girl. I think the handwriting looks more like a girl's than a boy's."

"He was called the Half-Blood _Prince_," Harry said. "How many girls have been Princes?"

Hermione didn't dignify his question with a response. She just continued writing the last sentences of her Ancient Runes essay and then let the ink dry. Harry than looked at his watch and hurriedly put the old book back into his bag.

"It's five to eight, I'd better go, I'll be late for Dumbledore."

"Oh!" Hermione gasped excitedly. "Good luck! We'll wait up, we want to hear what he teaches you!"

"Hope it goes okay," Ron said, then we watched Harry exit through the portrait hole.

"What do you think he'll teach him?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Maybe he'll teach him all of his tricks of being a great wizard."

"Maybe he'll teach him how to manipulate others," Ron said. "You know, kinda like how Aaralyn does it. That would be so cool."

"Oh, that reminds me," I gasped. I pulled out a piece of parchment and started to write. "I need to write a letter to Aaralyn."

"Tell her we say hi," Ron said.

"Tell her I said I'm still wishing she didn't drop out of Hogwarts," Hermione sighed.

"Oh, and tell her that Snape is the Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher this year," Ron added. "And that Harry has book owned by the Half-Blood Prince. And -"

"Hold your damn horses," I interrupted. "Can you just let me write?"

"Sorry," Ron said.

I sighed and continued to write.

I was walking towards the Ravenclaw common room, when I saw a Ravenclaw first year getting bullied by whoelse but Draco Malfoy. I groaned inwardly; could my day be any worse? Well now was the time to live up to my promise to Aaralyn.

"Seriously, Malfoy?" I asked, making them stop.

"Well if it isn't, Moriali," Malfoy smirked.

"You know, it doesn't have to be this way," I shrugged. "You could just come out and say it and all of your troubles will go away."

"What are you talking about?" he frowned.

"You know what," I smirked.

"What?" he asked.

"Your in the closet," I said, "Which explains all of your anger. But don't worry, just because your gay, it doesn't mean that your not human. You don't have to bottle things up. It's unhealthy."

Crabbe, Goyle, and the first year Ravenclaw all started to chuckle. Malfoy stared at me with wide eyes and disbelief.

"Shut up!" he said towards them. He then turned back to me. "I'm not gay!"

"Right," I said sarcastically.

"I'm not," he glared.

"Then explain why you never have a girlfriend," I said. "Oh wait, I can explain that for you: NO ONE LIKES YOU. You know what, maybe you really aren't gay."

I then stared to walk away.

"Hold it right there, Moriali," Malfoy spat.

I turned around to find him right of me. His cold, gray eyes burned into mine. No one could probably see this, but I was a little scared. I didn't have Aaralyn's courage or her cleverness. I didn't know how to get out of this situation.

"Take it back," he growled.

I gulped deeply, swallowing down the thick, lump that was clogging my throat with fear.

"No," I said.

"No?" he repeated.

"Yeah, no," I said. "As in the opposite of yes."

He glared at me even more. And when I thought the worst was going to happen, he just walked past me. He didn't say anything, no response. He just...left. What the hell? But I did feel a slight relief from it. I turned back to see the first year Ravenclaw staring at me with amazement.

"That was epic!" he said.

I giggled slightly. "Thanks. What's your name?"

"Alibastor," he said. "But my friends call me Bas."

"I'm Rosaline," I smiled.

"Do you know how to get to the Ravenclaw common room from here?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "I'll walk you there."

"Thanks," Bas smiled, showing his braces. He must have been a muggle-born.

"So where are you from?" I asked.

"Israel," he said. "They don't wizarding schools there. Where are you from"

"America orginally," I said, "But I grew up in Hong-Kong."

"You've been to China?" Bas gasped. "Lucky!"

I laughed lightly. I could already see the budding of a new friendship.

It was still morning when the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs were held. Hermione, Bas, and I were sitting together in the stands of the Quidditch pitch. There was still a morning mist in the air. As expected, the trials took up most of the morning. It looked like half of the Gryffindor House was on the field.

"I wish I could try out," Bas sighed.

"Can't you try out for Ravenclaw?" I asked.

"But Harry Potter isn't on that team," he said. "Come on, it's Harry-freakin'-Potter!"

Hermione and I started to laugh. Bas seemed to humor me every day.

"Where did you say you met this boy?" Hermione whispered.

Harry started the try-outs with some basic tests. The first five groups that tried out were terrible. And they weren't even in the Gryffindor house. Finally Harry got frustrated.

"If there's anyone else here who's not from Gryffindor, leave now please!" he roared.

Immediately several Ravenclaw first year girls left the stands giggling madly. Hermione, Bas, and I started to roll our eyes in annoyance. But lucky Hermione doesn't have to hear them giggling even more about it the common room.

After two hours of watching the try-outs, Harry finally got three Chasers; Katie Bell, Demelza Robins, and Ginny. Ginny was surprisingly really talented. She outflew everyone and scored seventeen goals. Finding Beaters was difficult since Fred and George were now gone. But he did get some decent choices; Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote.

Now it was time for Keepers to try out. We were all nervous for Ron to get in. Even Harry had a small bit of hope that Ron would do the best. I especially didn't want Cocky Cormac McLaggen to be the Keeper; mostly because I just didn't like him. Fourth year, he called me a neon alley-rat. So in return, Aaralyn helped me dye his hair neon green, which lasted a whole week. Ever since, we've always passed each other in the halls with glares and shoves.

Unfortunately Cormac's try-out wasn't that bad. He blocked 4 out of 5 goals. Oddly, on the fifth one, he went completely the other direction which caused the crowd to boo and laugh. Even I had a good share of chuckles. I especially loved it when he flew back to the ground angry, grinding his teeth and muttering to himself.

Then it's was Ron's turn. He shot up into the air on his Cleansweep Eleven. Someone in the crowd shouted "Good luck!"; it was Lavender Brown. She smiled brightly at him and then hid her face shyly in her gloved hands. Since when did she have the hots for Ron? Yeah, I said "have the hots", so sue me. Surprisingly, Ron blocked them all. Five in a row! The whole crowd started to cheer. Ron was going to be Keeper. McLaggen was red as a tomato.

"His sister didn't really try," McLaggen said. "She gave him an easy save."

"Rubbish," Harry said coldly. "That was the one he nearly missed."

"Give me another go," McLaggen ordered.

"No," Harry said. "You've had your go. You saved four. Ron saved five. Ron's Keeper, he won it fair and square. Get out of my way."

McLaggen then stormed off. Bas and I snickered madly. Sucks for him. Hermione jumped up from her seat and ran over to run.

"You did brilliantly, Ron!" she said.

"I thought I was going to miss that fourth penalty," Ron said happily. "Tricky shot from Demelza, did you see, had a bit of a spin on it -"

"Yes, yes, you were magnificent," Hermione said, looking amused.

"So are we heading back to the common room?" I asked. "Maybe have a victory party for Ron?"

"Ron, Hermione, and I are going to visit Hagrid," Harry said.

"Alright, well Bas and I are gonna head back," I said. "We'll see you guys later."

We walked back to the school before classes started. Luckily I had a free period for my first class. We walked to the common room to see the same Ravenclaw first year girls crowding around the entrance. They probably couldn't get the password right. One of them saw Bas and sighed in relief.

"Bas, you better know the answer to this riddle," she sighed.

"Oh, you know I do, girlfriend!" Bas said fake sassy-like.

Bas faced the golden raven head hanging on the wall.

"An apple begins with me and age too," the raven said. "I am in the midst of a man and foremost in every apprehension. You will find me in everyday and see me in all Autumns. It's a pity that you cannot see me in the air and yet it's so wonderful to be a part of the great Atlantic ocean! Guess what am I?"

"The letter A," Bas shrugged.

"Correct," the raven said. And then the entrance opened.

"Oooooooh," all the Ravenclaw girls said in realization.

"Seriously?" Bas asked. "How could you _not _get that? Y'all so duuuuuuumb." He then snapped his fingers in a sassy, ghetto way, which made me loose it. I busted out laughing and walked into the common room almost crying. Aaralyn is definitely missing out on the world's best first year.


	46. New Friends and Muggle Talk

**A/N: FINALLY! First, I'd like to apologize for how freakin' long that took. As you all know, I have a dino laptop; which means it likes to shut down on me a lot. Long story short, my laptop died, got my sisters old one (still a dinosaur -_-) and just switched the hard-drives. Then there was an issue with connecting to the Internet. So I couldn't publish anything when I was finished a chapter. And I literally _just _realized that I could transfer the files to a flashdrive and upload them on my mom's computer. JUSTICE! Well anyways, here's what you all've been waiting for! Enjoy. R&R!**

* * *

><p>It was just another day at the shop; except this time it was a bit quieter, and I was a lot more tired. Maybe because I didn't sleep at all last night. The coffee didn't help, I was still exhausted. I was running the cash register today. All I did was stare into the dull shine of the wooden counter. I started to zone out; I blocked out all of the talk and the movement around me. I could feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier, until I finally started to close my eyes.<p>

"Aaralyn," George called out to me, making my eyes shoot back open.

"Huh?" I murmured.

"I asked you if you could refill the shelves in the back corner," he frowned as he looked at me. "But maybe you shouldn't. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied.

"Are you sure?" George asked. "Maybe you should go lie down for a bit. You look really out of it."

"I'm fine, George," I lightly smiled. "I'll go refill the shelves."

I walked into the storage room before he could argue any more. If there was anything I didn't want to do now, it would be sleeping. I didn't want to return to the nightmare world that visited my mind every night. Well, it used to. Now I just don't sleep. I was afraid of sleep. It used to be such a pleasure; something that I would look forward to every day. But now it's what I dread most. Now every night, I would drink a cup of coffee and just sit by my window. I would watch the sun set and then rise again, and I would dare not close my eyes.

I walked into the storage room and the first thing I saw was blood. It was everywhere; on the table, the floor, dripping from the shelves. I was about to scream, but by the time I opened my mouth, it disappeared. I blinked really hard and frowned as I looked at the blood-free room. I shrugged, climbed up the ladder, and grabbed the products that I needed to restock.

As I walked out of the storage room, the whole shop turned black and white. I stopped moving and looked around me in confusion. This whole day was too familiar to me. And then the black and white was gone. I suddenly felt light-headed, and started to stagger when I walked.

"Whoa, Aaralyn," George quickly grabbed me to keep me steady. "You need to take a break."

"George, I'm fine -"

"No, you're not." He then took what was in my hands. "Now go upstairs."

I sighed and then started to walk towards the stairs. But everything started to slow down in front of me. I felt like I was walking for hours instead of the few short seconds it usually was. The corners of my eyes continuously blurred in and out, in and out. The slightest twinge of pain pierced the left side of my head. I cringed a bit, but ignored it. I finally reached the stairs. When I walked up the third step, they turned into bloody, black and white stairs.

And then everything went black.

Rosaline's POV

The snow was beautiful, and sadly, very cold. Today was the day of a Hogsmeade trip, and promised Hermione I'd meet her and the boys at Three Broomsticks. I slipped on my thick, gray wool sweater and then pulled on my coat. I left the dorm and slipped on my gloves as I walked out of the common room. After quickly saying goodbye to Bas, I slipped through the door. I followed a small group of people to Hogsmeade. The snow fell gently from the sky, landing on the ground and my hair. I blinked away the flakes that landed on my eyelashes. I happily sighed, watched the clouds of my breath float away into the sky.

Hogsmeade looked amazing during the winter. It reminded me of the joyous Christmas cards that I saw in the stores. Snow piled up on the roofs of the buildings. Hogwarts students moved from store to store, talking and laughing on the way. The dorky, romantic couples (you know, the ones that Aaralyn would puke at the sight of) walked together, hand-in-hand, to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.

I finally made it to the Three Broomsticks. I quickly stepped in, making sure none of the cold air slipped in. I shivered when I felt the sudden change of temperature. I squinted a bit, trying to look through the smoke that clouded the atmosphere. Hermione saw me waved me over. I smiled and sat down next to her.

"Hey," I said as I sat down.

"I ordered a butterbeer for you," Hermione said.

"Thanks," I said as I peeled off my coat.

I noticed Ron was peering over Hermione's shoulder and glaring.

"Oh, bloody hell," he muttered and then shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Everyone looked around and saw Ginny and Dean Thomas snuggled up in a back table, holding hands and smiling. I smirked a little.

"Silly git," Ron growled.

"For goodness sake, Ron," Hermione sighed, "they're only holding hands."

We looked back around. They weren't just holding hands; they had started making out.

"And making out," I added.

"I'd like to leave," Ron said.

"What?" Hermione asked and then laughed. "You can't be serious."

"That happens to be my sister," Ron said.

"So?" Hermione asked. "What if she looked at me and saw you snogging me? Would you expect her to get up and leave?"

A brief awkward silence filled in on the conversation. Harry then looked up and waved at someone behind me.

"Harry, my boy!" a voice drunkenly chuckled.

Harry stood up as Slughorn staggered over to our table.

"Professor, how wonderful it is to see you," Harry smiled.

"And you," Slughorn slurred, "and you."

"So what brings you here?" Harry asked.

"Oh, the Three Broomsticks and I go way back," Slughorn smiled. "Further than I care to admit. I can remember when it was _One _Broomstick!"

He laughed at his own joke and then accidentally spilled his drink on the table, making Hermione jump back.

"All hands on deck, Granger," he then chuckled. He turned back to Harry. "Listen, my boy. In the old days, I used to throw together the occasional supper party and select a student or two. Would you be game?"  
>"I'd consider it an honor, sir," Harry said.<p>

"You'd be welcome, too, Granger," Slughorn smiled.

"I'd be delighted, sir," Hermione replied.

"Splendid!" he said. "Look for my owl!" He turned to Ron and frowned a bit. "Good to see you, Wollemby."

He was either really drunk or just didn't care who Ron was. Well, either way, I laughed at it, while Ron shot me a quick glare. Slughorn then staggered away happily.

"He's really weird," I said once he was gone.

"Shall we call it a day and go back to school, then?" Harry asked.

"Sure," I said. I then took one last sip of my butterbeer and put my coat back on.

We walked back out, slowly following Katie Bell and her friend back to Hogwarts. I spent the whole walk back listening to the sound of my boots walking in the snow. It wasn't until later when I heard Katie and her friend's voices getting louder. They looked like they were having an argument about something Katie was holding.

"It has nothing to do with you, Leanne!" she shouted. Leanne then made a grab for the package; Katie tugged back and the package fell to the ground.

Immediately, Katie rose into the air. Her arms were outstretched, hair whipping around her by the strong wind. Her eyes were closed and her face was empty of expression. And then her eyes shot open, and she let out an agonizing scream. Her face was filled with pain. Leanna then started to scream. She jumped up and grabbed for Katie's ankle, trying to tug her back down. Hermione and Ron then jumped in and grabbed her other leg. Harry and I then ran over and helped pull her down. Once she was finally on the ground, she started to thrash around while she continued to scream.

"I'll go get help!" Harry said and then ran towards the school.

We all we trying to hold her down as she continued to scream. We tried quieting her, but nothing worked. It wasn't long until Harry came running back with Hagrid right behind him.

"Get back!" Hagrid bellowed. "Lemme see her!"

"Something's happened to her!" Leanne sobbed. "I don't know what -"

Hagrid scooped Katie into his giant arms and ran back to the castle. Within seconds, Katie's screams died away. Hermione rushed over to Leanne's side.

"It's Leanne, isn't it?" she asked.

Leanne nodded.

"Did it just happen all of a sudden, or -?"

"It was when that package tore," Leanna sobbed, pointing at the brown-paper package on the ground. Like Leanne said, it had torn, revealing a greenish glitter. Ron reached down to grab it when Harry immediately pulled him back.

"Don't touch it!" Harry yelled. He then crouched down and looked closer at the package. It was necklace.

"I've seen that before," Harry said. "It was on the display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago. The label said it was cursed. Katie must have touched it." He looked over at Leanne. "How did Katie get a hold of this?"

"Well that's why we were arguing. She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for someone at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it...Oh no, oh no! I bet she was Imperiused and I didn't realize!" And then she started to cry again.

"She didn't say who had given it to her, Leanne?" Hermione asked.

"No...she wouldn't tell me...and I said she was being stupid and not take it up to school, but she just wouldn't listen and...and then I tried to grab it from her...and - and -"

She interrupted herself with another cry.

"We better take her back to the school," I said. I wrapped my arm around Leanne and guided her back to Hogwarts.

"This is all my fault," she sniffled.

"No, it's not," I said sympathetically.

"Yes, it is!" she cried. "If I didn't grab the package then she would be fine right now! Now she's hurt. You don't think she's gonna die, do you?"

She looked up at me with glossy, red eyes, snowflakes and tears streaming down her red cheeks.

"No," I said. "Katie's a strong girl. She'll make it through. And she's got you as a friend to take care of her."

She weakly smiled at me and then threw her arms around me.

"Thank you," she said.

"Um...you're welcome," I said, trying not to sound awkward.

We then continued our walk back to Hogwarts in silence, with the occasional sound of Leanne sniffling and the faded voice of Harry, Ron, and Hermione behind us.

Aaralyn's POV

Darkness swarms in front of my eyes; the darkness that I have feared for so long now. I can feel my heartbeat quicken as I realize what's about to happen, another nightmare. I didn't want to go through this again. It was too much for me. Too much pain, too much fear and suffering. My mind started to scream at my body to run away, for my eyes to open, for me to wake up. Luckily, my eyes started to twitch and slowly opened up to the world surrounding me.

"She's waking up," a warm, familiar voice said.

A thick blur was painted over my eyes like a fog. Once it started to clear away I saw that I was in my bed, with George sitting by my side with a worried look in his eyes. Fred was sitting in a chair by the wall next to my bed, watching me carefully.

"How're you feeling?" Fred asked.

"Confused," I frowned. "What happened?"

"You were going upstairs to go to bed when passed out," he explained. "You were almost halfway up the stairs, and you hit your head pretty bad. We had a doctor come by to check on you and he said you're fine. You're being put to bed rest though."

I felt my stomach drop as he said that. Bed rest? Are they kidding me?

"And to make sure that you go to sleep," George added, "The doctor gave us some medicine to give every night."

_So this is how I'm going die; by torturing myself with nightmares. That's fan-damn-tastic._

"Well, I better get back to the shop," Fred said. "Don't fall down any stairs while I'm gone."

I lightly smiled, silently thanking him for trying to make a joke, even though it wasn't working for me. Fred shut the door behind him, leaving me and George in an awkward silence.

"You've got to stop doing this," George said abruptly.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Lying," he said. "Every day you keep saying that you're fine and you don't need help with anything, but I know you do. I know you well enough to know when you're troubled. So tell me right now, what's wrong?"

I bit my lip anxiously while staring down at my slightly shaking hands. What was I supposed to tell him? What if he thinks it's stupid? What if he takes it too far and puts me in an institute? Would he do that to me? This would be too much of a burden to him and Fred. I don't want to put him under that kind of pressure. But I also don't want to have to lie to him. Too many emotions started to swim around in my head. I became so overloaded I felt like exploding, but instead I felt tears brim at the corners of my eyes. No! I could _not _cry now! Not now, Aaralyn!

It was too late to yell at myself, tears were already pouring down my face. Now it was too obvious I was hiding something from him. I aggressively wiped away my tears.

_Stop crying. Crying is for the weak. You're not weak, Aaralyn. Stop crying!_

I still didn't say anything. I continued to looked down at my pale hands that figited awkwardly. I could tell that George was starting to give up on me.

"I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you," he sighed, as he got up from the bed.

The moment he shut the door behind him, a sudden relief washed over; but the guilt instantly crashed along with it. Why didn't I tell him? I instantly felt so stupid for bottling this up. 16-year-olds don't hide the fact their having fucked up nightmares every night; they hide their drug use, and secret relationships. But then again, this wasn't the muggle world. Most 16-year-old _wizards_, while they do have secret relationships, they probably hide the fact that they are Death Eaters; hopefully they aren't doing that.

I needed something to take my mind off this...ridiculous drama. I looked around the room, out the window, up at the ceiling, and then towards my nightstand, where the dusty box filled with my father's things stood. I raised my hand and with a flick of my wrist, the box lifted itself up and graciously floated towards my lap. I lifted the top off of the box and pulled out the old journal. I opened to a random page and started to read.

_Tonight is going to be the best night of my life, because tonight I'm meeting Annabeth by the old fountain in the nearby muggle town; the town where I first saw her. But tonight isn't like any other secret meeting I have with Annabeth, where my heart races with passion and adrenaline and I steal kisses from her soft lips and watch the sunrise with her. No, tonight is special because I'm going to ask her to marry me._

I gasped a little, and then smiled. I felt like I was reading a classic romance novel or one of those sappy soap operas converted into a book. I usually didn't like that lovey-dovey shit, but this was different; it was my parents. I turned a couple of pages over.

_It's been three months since Annabeth and have been married; three beautiful, joyous months. I honestly believe I've never been happier in my entire life. But I still have to keep everything a secret. My own brother doesn't even know I'm married. I wouldn't see how he would know since he hasn't talked to my family in almost 5 years. I feel like he would understand if I told him about Annabeth. He out of all people in my family would accept it. If my mother found out I was married to a muggle, she'd disown me! She'd probably kill me, too. If the Dark Lord knew I was married to a muggle, he'd _definitley _kill me; and then feed my corpse to his snake._

I turned another few pages.

_Annabeth is pregnant. And I'm scared out of my wits. I could never be a father! I'd be the worst father in the entire world! Annabeth keeps telling me I'll do fine though, and that she's scared, too. But she doesn't look scared, though. She's not pacing around the house, muttering to herself, almost driving herself bloody mad! Merlin's beard! Someone help me!_

"Dad was a serious drama queen," I mumbled. I flipped a few pages over.

_I'm starting to question whether or not I should have been a Death Eater. It's all not starting to feel right to me. I only joined because of my parents. They're loyal followers of the Dark Lord, and they already have _one _disappointment in the family. But maybe Sirius isn't the disappointment; maybe it's me. I'm the one with a secret muggle wife. Sirius actually stood up for what he believed in. He didn't let anyone push him around. I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize that I truly respect my brother._

I sighed and then closed the journal. I tucked it back into the box and let the box float back over to it's place on my nightstand. I felt my eyes grow heavy from being so sleep-deprived. I yawned and slid further under the covers, shutting my eyes and peacefully drifting off. I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping for no nightmares this time.

Rosaline's POV

Bas and I sat across from each other at the library. Bas was working on his History of Magic essay, while I was reading my new book. Every now and then Bas would huff in frustration as his quill scratched against the parchment. He rubbed his eyes and then squinted at what he wrote; I don't know whether it was because he couldn't see or because he was glaring at the paper with anger. Finally Bas groaned and put down his quill.

"I can't take it anymore," he said. "History of Magic is the _worst _class ever. How am I supposed to learn anything when the professor is so boring? And not to mention he's always super depressing! Seriously, isn't there some anti-depressant potion Madame Pomfrey could put him on?"

I laughed lightly at him and shook my head. "I'm guessing there isn't. We could always smuggle in some Lexapro."

"_True-ness_," Bas sang. "Man, I really wish muggle objects worked at Hogwarts. I could be playing Angry Birds right now, or be listening to Deadmau5."

"You like dubstep?" I scrunched my nose.

"Not in general," Bas shrugged. "Only Deadmau5. Dubstep is one of the dumbest inventions ever made. It's just a bunch of techno and then all of a sudden, lawnmower sounds! _Lawnmower sounds!_"

I laughed again and nodded in agreement.

"I'm more of a rock fan," I said. "My favorite bands are MCR and Muse."

"I like most music," Bas said. "I like Mumford & Sons, Bob Marley, and Gym Class Heroes."

"That's an interesting variety," I chuckled.

"I think it's better than that wizard band that everyone here is obsessed with," he said. "What are they called? Twisted Sisters?"

I laughed even harder when I heard him say that.

"Bas, the Twisted Sisters is a muggle band," I giggled. "You're talking about the _Weird _Sisters."

"Shut up," he muttered in embarrassment.

I closed my book and slipped it back into my bag. I slung the strap over my shoulder and stood up from the table.

"See you at common room," I said.

"Bye," Bas sighed.

I walked out of the library. I didn't know exactly what I was going to do. Maybe I'd write to Aaralyn. But then again, she hasn't been writing back. I don't know why, though. Maybe she was too busy with work, her insane boyfriend and his identical twin. It was too bad that they banned their products from Hogwarts. I was looking forward to seeing some amateur pranksters pull some tricks on Filch.

I started to turn at a corner, when I crashed into someone's chest. As I was about to fall, someone grabbed me, saving me from possibly hurting myself; and also looking like a complete fool. I looked up at the person, ready to thank them and apologize. A pair of familiar, cold, silver eyes looked down at me. I had unfortunately run into Draco Malfoy.

He let me go, letting me stand on my own. We stared at each other in a brief awkward silence. I started to question whether I should apologize or just walk away; and let's just say, I was enjoying the idea of walking away.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Wow," I widened my eyes. "Second time you've apologized to me. This must be a new record for you."

"Sod off," he rolled his eyes.

"So are you actually sorry?" I asked. "Or you just trying to get something out of me, like the manipulator you are?"

"You know what, forget it," Malfoy said. "I don't care."

He started to walk away, obviously annoyed, but that started to make me feel guilty about all of the bitch comments I've made towards; no matter how much he really deserved them.

"Hey, Malfoy, wait."

He turned around, irritated. His face screamed with the question "what the bloody hell do you want now?"

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing," I sighed. "I should. I'm sorry for what I said. You're obviously not in the closet."

He frowned towards me.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why what?" I asked back.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because, as much as you deserved it, it's not true and it's against my morals to not say sorry," I shrugged. "Well that was it. You can go now."

This time I walked away. But as I was turning the corner, I heard a set of footsteps race behind me. Malfoy suddenly popped up beside me. I raised my eyebrow at him, implying the question of what he was doing.

"Uh...I'm going this way, too," he answered. I only nodded in response.

After a long moment of just the sound of our footsteps echoing in the halls, Malfoy finally spoke.

"So, since it's obvious that you're not from here," he said, "where are you from?"

"America," I said.

"How long have you had blue hair?"

"A while."

"Were you at Hogwarts for your first year?"

"Yeah," I lied. "You just didn't notice me because my hair wasn't blue."

I hated having to keep up with this fake life.

"Why are you in Ravenclaw?" Malfoy asked suddenly. "It's not like you aren't smart; you're probably the second smartest next to Granger. It's just that you would fit in to Slytherin. You're really cunning and you know how to insult someone. Not like White could, but you're still pretty good."

"While I feel slightly offended by being called second best compared to two of my friends," I said, "I guess I'll take the odd complement. I don't know why I'm in Ravenclaw, though. I guess I'm more brains than I am cunning."

"I'd disagree honestly," Malfoy shrugged.

"Next question," I said, getting used to this game of 'Getting to Know Rosaline,' which made Malfoy smirk.

"I heard you've moved in with the Weasleys," he said. "Is that true?"

"Yeah."

"That's it? Just a simple 'yeah?' You aren't going to explain?"

"You asked if it was true, not why I'm staying with them."

"Well why are you?"

"It's hard to explain," I frowned.

"How so?"

"Well the general reason is that housing arrangements for me had run into some..._issues _last year," I tried putting it as vaguely as possible.

"You don't live with your dad anymore then?"

"No," I said quickly. I silently prayed that he wouldn't want me to explain. But luckily we had reached the Ravenclaw common room.

"I'll see you later, Malfoy," I said.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I should hang out with you more often."


End file.
